The Impact of the French Revolution on BalletThe French Revolution was a bloody civil war that lasted from the years 1789-1799. [1] The revolution was born from a difficult economic period that had hit France. Widespread famine and starvation, due to grain shortages, raged in some parts of the country. The economic crisis led to increased taxes on the lower classes, known as the third estate, to maintain the lavish lifestyle of the nobility. [1] All these are the known factors that led to the birth of the French Revolution. The revolution emphasized the ideals of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” and was characterized by the strong will of the French people who defended what they wanted. he believed. It was also an extremely bloody period, which saw the advent of the guillotine, an instrument used for public executions and to instill a sense of fear in those who opposed the revolution. The revolution saw the public execution of the king and queen, Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, as well as thousands of others. The upper class feared for their lives. The French Revolution was one of the bloodiest and most terrifying periods that France as a nation had to endure. Predictably, the Revolution pervaded all forms of life, and arts and culture were not immune to its reach. Ballet in France was commonly associated with Louis XIV at the start of the Revolution due to the enormous impact he had on the growth of ballet. He founded the Academie Royale de Danse, which was the first recognized ballet school. The ballet at the court of Louis XIV was characterized by extreme ornamentation and pomp. The ballet master, Jean Baptiste Lully, sought to show the dignified style of the Sun King. The themes of the court ballets range...... center of paper...... shelf, 2002. Print.[ 2] Chazin-Bennahum, Judith. "Unmasking the body: from Lully to the revolution". Dance Chronicle 33.2 (2010): 310-19. Print.[3] Chazin-Bennahum, Judith. Dance in the shadow of the guillotine. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1988. Print.[4] "Chapter 5: The Baroque Period and the Courts of LOUIS XIII and XIV (1600-1715)." History of Ballet 4410: Chapter 5. University of Utah, nd Web.[5] "THE ROCOCO PERIOD, 1715-1800." History of Ballet 4410: Chapter 6. University of Utah, nd Web.[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of the Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.[7] Hunt, Lynn. Politics, culture and class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: University of California, 1984. Print.[8] Brown, Federico. Theater and revolution: the culture of the French stage. New York: Viking, 1980. Print.