Ballet is a way of telling a story using music and dance instead of words. Ballet consists of movements that have been developed over the centuries. Classical ballet is found all around the world: Europe, the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South America.

Early classical ballets such as Giselle and La Sylphide were created during the Romantic Movement in the first half of the 19th century. This movement influenced art, music and ballet. It was concerned with the supernatural world of spirits and magic. It often showed women as passive and fragile. These themes are reflected in the ballets of the time and are called "romantic ballets."

Ballets created during the latter half of the 19th century such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty represent "classical ballet" in its grandest form. Their main purpose was to display the classical techniques to the fullest. Complicated sequences that show off demanding steps, leaps, and turns are choreographed into the story.

Ballets created during the 20th century are called "contemporary ballets." They do not always have a definite story line. They often have a theme and concentrate on emotions and atmosphere, attempting to arouse feelings in the audience. Emotions and reactions differ from person to person when viewing this style of ballet.

There are also new ballets which are being created that are patterned after traditional ballets in their structure and form. These ballets incorporate contemporary choreographic innovations while using classical forms and traditional stories and fairy tales such as Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland and Cleopatra, or Terrence S. Orr's The NEW Nutcracker.

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ballerina (bah-luh-ree'nah) A leading female dancer of a ballet company. A dancer earns the title of ballerina through years of hard work and great dancing.

balance (ba-lahn-say') A rocking step which is an alteration of balance, shifting weight from one foot to another.

ballet (bah-lay') From the Italian ballare, to dance.

chaine, or beboule (sheh-nay') A series of turns on pointe or demi-pointe executed in a line of a circle, in which the feet remain close to the floor and the weight is transferred rapidly and almost imperceptibly from one foot to the other as the body revolves.

choreographer (cor-ee-og'ra-fer) Someone who creates dances. Originally the word meant someone who records dances, but has come to mean the person responsible for the design of movement in a ballet.

coda (koh'dah) The conclusion or ending of a pas de deux.

corps de ballet (core, duh, bah-lay') Dancers who appear only in large groups. The corps de ballet is the backbone of every ballet company.

divertissement (di-ver-tis-mah') A section of a ballet consisting of dances that have no direct connection to the plot. These dances provide an opportunity for soloists to display their technique and skills.

entrechat (an-tray-sha') Probably from the Italian intrecciare, to weave a braid. A beating step of elevation in which the dancer jumps straight in the air from a plie and crosses his feet a number of times, making a weaving motion in the air.

jete (zhe-tay') From the French jeter, to throw. This is a jump in which the weight of the body is thrown from one foot to the other.

pas d'action (pah, dahk-shon') Portions of a ballet that can help to develop the plot or depict an activity, they are a combination of dancing and pantomime.

pas de caractere (pah, duh, kar'ahk-tehr) A dance that is non-classical, a character dance, national or folk dance (within a classical ballet).

pas de deux (pah, duh, duh') A dance for two people.

pique (pee-kay') Executed by stepping directly on the point or demi-pointe of the working foot in any desired direction or position with the other foot raised in the air.

pirouette (peer-oo-wet') A complete turn of the body on one foot.

plie (plee-ay') From the French plier, to bend. In the classic dance, this is a bending of the knees, with the knees wide open and the feet turned outward. The function of the plie in the dancer's body is like the function of the springs in an automobile, and is necessary for the development of flexibility.

port de bras (port, duh, brah') In ballet, the movement or carriage of the arms.

saute (soh-tay') Jumped or jumping.

tutu (too'too) Slang term for the very short petticoat worn by a dancer in the interest of modesty.

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Founder of New York City Ballet and famous choreographer George Balanchine once said that if no pointe existed, he would not be a choreographer. Pointe shoes allow a ballerina to create the illusion of lightness and to project an increased sense of daring. Without pointe shoes, much of the magical quality of ballet would be lost.

Ballerinas began dancing on pointe between 1815 and 1830 using soft shoes reinforced by stuffed toes and starch. Since then, pointe dancing and the toe shoe have evolved considerably. Today pointe shoes provide comfort and support for a dancer, whether she is on pointe or in a flat position.

The contemporary pointe shoe is handmade by American and European manufacturers. The tip is made of a hardened box or block made of densely packed layers of fabric and paper hardened by glue. This box of glue and fabric encases, protects and supports the toes and gives them a small platform on which to perch. The rest of the shoe is made of a leather outer sole, a sturdy insole and a supple shank. The side and top of the shoe are covered with a cotton lining and an outer layer of satin, canvas or leather.

Dancers don't just put on pointe shoes and begin dancing. Selecting and preparing shoes is a very involved process. Dancers usually have a favorite cobbler who makes their shoes to very exacting specifications, including measurements, materials and finishing elements. Dancers know their cobbler by the mark put on the bottom of the shoe. But because of the handmade nature of each pair of shoes, no two pairs are ever identical. To ensure a proper fit, a dancer must have a fitting for each new pair of shoes.

Once a dancer has selected new pointe shoes, she must prepare them for dancing. It takes an hour or longer to "ready" a shoe for dancing. Each dancer has her own personal way of preparing her shoes. Dancers will darn the shoes to provide traction and to prevent the satin from fraying. Some pound the point with a hammer or squeeze the box in a door to soften it. Some cut the satin off the tips and use a carpenter's file to rough up the sole. To mold the shoes and prolong wear, dancers line the inside with floor wax or shellac. Finally, the ballerina attaches elastic and ribbons to hold the shoe in place.

Dancers break in shoes by wearing them to class and rehearsal. Once they are broken in, a dancer sets them aside for a performance and uses another pair. Dancers may change their pointe shoes several times during a performance depending on the range and difficulty of the ballet. Each female dancer goes through 100-120 pairs of pointe shoes each season at the Pittsburgh Ballet. It's no wonder the Ballet spends $80,000 on pointe shoes each year!

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So you think you're ready to enjoy a performance? To make it even more interesting, here is some history of things to look for at the Benedum Center, home of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

1. The Marquees - When you arrive at the theater, note the marquees on the front and the Penn Avenue sides of the theater. They were designed in 1928 to showcase the "new" electric lights. The building was originally built as the Stanley Theatre. See if you can find all of the references to the Benedum Center and to the original name, the Stanley Theatre, throughout the building.

2. Grand Lobby - All but one of the murals on the ceiling of the Grand Lobby were destroyed over the years. Celeste Parrendo, the painter who recreated them, worked from photographs of the designs and from one well-preserved mural for the colors. Much of her work was done with Q-Tips! She tried to lie on her back and paint as Michelangelo did with the Sistine Chapel, but this proved to be extremely difficult. She quickly found ways to kneel or stand on the scaffolding in order to finish her painting.

3. Orchestra Pit - It is divided into two sections, each of which can be raised or lowered by the built-in hydraulic lift. When we have a smaller orchestra, half of the pit is raised and additional seating is installed. If an orchestra is not required, the entire pit is raised for seating.

4. Proscenium Arch - The opening around the stage is the proscenium. As you can see, the original elaborately painted plaster arch has been restored. (You can see the top of the arch from the balcony.) You can also see another arch. It is a wooden acoustical arch that has panels which can be adjusted to change the acoustics of the theater, or they can be opened to accommodate vocalists, actors, or musicians.

5. Chandelier - Believe it or not, this beautiful centerpiece to the theater's elaborate dome weighs 2 tons (or 4,000 pounds) and has over 500,000 pieces! When it is cleaned, the chandelier is lowered to a certain point and then scaffolding is built around it. Each crystal is washed in soapy water and replaced. It's enough to make you put off the spring cleaning!

6. The Stage - This is the third largest stage in the country. The first is the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the second is the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. The full stage measures 144 feet wide by 78 feet deep. The performance space that you will see is 56 feet by 56 feet. The wooden floor is covered with marley, a black, rubber-like, and non-skid surface.

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