istoryworld
Events relating to dance
Frenzied dances, in honour of the god Dionysus, become part of Greek theatre - deriving probably from the northeast, in Thrace
The first dramatic ballet, the Balet Comique de la Reine, is presented during French wedding festivities
The 14-year-old Louis XIV dances in a court ballet as Apollo, wearing a glorious sun costume, and finds that he likes the role
Louis XIV establishes a royal dancing academy and soon follows it with a music academy
A professional ballet company in Paris introduces female dancers and the world's first prima ballerina, Mlle de Lafontaine
Under the guidance of Alexander Hamilton the First Bank of the United States is established in Philadelphia
Robert Schumann's first published composition is Papillons ('Butterflies'), twelve short dance pieces for piano
Coppélia, with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Delibes, has its premiere at the Paris Opera
French painter Edgar Degas finds inspiration in the onstage and backstage world of ballet dancers
The ballet Swan Lake, with choreography by Julius Wenzel Reisinger to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere at the Bolshoi in Moscow
Czech composer Anton Dvorák writes his first set of Slavonic Dances, originally as piano duets
An American Indian visionary, Wovoka, launches a new religion that will bring the dead back to life, calling it the Ghost Dance
Sleeping Beauty, with choreography by Petipa to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere in St Petersburg
The Nutcracker, with choreography by Lev Ivanov to music by Tchaikovsky, has its premiere in St Petersburg
Swan Lake is performed in St Petersburg in its definitive version, with choreography shared between Lucien Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Isadora Duncan dances professionally for the first time in Europe in London's Lyceum Theatre
The annual Prix Goncourt is established in France, in accordance with the will of Edmond de Goncourt
The Dutch dancer Gertrud Zelle begins a career in Paris, using the stage name Mata Hari
6-year-old Fred Astaire and his sister Adele give their first professional performance, in the pier theatre in Keyport, New Jersey
Michel Fokine creates the ballet Les Sylphides (originally called Chopiniana) to music by Chopin
Anna Pavlova dances The Dying Swan, choreographed for her by Michel Fokine to music by Saint-Saëns
Bronislava Nijinska joins her brother Vaslav in the Maryinsky company in St Petersburg
Michel Fokine becomes the choreographer for the ballet company that Sergei Diaghilev is taking to Paris
Alexandre Benois becomes the first artistic director of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
