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This article is from the Ballet and Modern Dance FAQ, by Tom Parsons twp@panix.com with numerous contributions by others.

4.2. I thought ballet was a Russian art.

Many of the greatest dancers in the 20th century have been Russian,
but ballet arose in Italy and matured in France (see questions 4.3 and 4.5,
below). In the 19th century, ballet flowered in Russia (through the work
of French and Italian teachers who moved there), and early in the 20th
century Russian ballet began to influence Western Europe, largely through
the agency of the impresario Serge Diaghilev. (See question 4.9.1.)
Diaghilev's Ballets Russes gave ballet in Western Europe a much-needed shot
in the arm, and the influence of Russian dancing, augmented by the various
Russian companies who have toured Western Europe in recent years, persists
to this day.

 

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