Q 01/05

In the Renaissance courts of which country did ballet begin before spreading to France?

A) Spain

B) Austria

C) England

D) Italy

Answer · why

D) Italy

Italy's Renaissance courts staged it at lavish noble weddings, danced by the courtiers themselves in court dress, long before tutus or pointe shoes ex...

Q 02/05

Which queen of France is credited with importing court ballet from her homeland?

A) Marie Antoinette

B) Anne of Austria

C) Catherine de' Medici

D) Eleanor of Aquitaine

Answer · why

C) Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici's court staged the Ballet Comique de la Reine under her auspices in 1581; often called the first court ballet, it began a long Fr...

Q 03/05

Which French king founded the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661?

A) Louis XIII

B) Louis XV

C) Louis XVI

D) Louis XIV

Answer · why

D) Louis XIV

Louis XIV founded the dance academy in March 1661, the very month he took personal control of France after his chief minister died; he had danced in c...

Q 04/05

How many basic positions of the feet does classical ballet recognise?

A) Two

B) Five

C) Ten

D) Twenty

Answer · why

B) Five

Five positions, each with the legs turned out from the hips, were codified in the late 1600s by dancing master Pierre Beauchamp, and ballet steps stil...

Q 05/05

Which composer wrote the music for Swan Lake?

A) Sergei Prokofiev

B) Igor Stravinsky

C) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

D) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Answer · why

D) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky did not live to see Swan Lake triumph: the first production was not a success, he died in 1893, and only the 1895 St Petersbu...