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In ballet schools around the world , a class sounds much the same . The teacher calls out " plié " and the dancers bend their knees . She calls out " jeté " and they spring across the floor in a throwing step . When two dancers perform together , the piece is a " pas de deux " , a dance for two . All of these words are French , and the reason lies in the court of a king . Ballet did not begin in France . It began in the Italian courts of the Renaissance , and even its name comes from an Italian word meaning a short dance . Catherine de ' Medici helped bring it to France . There it found a devoted dancer in Louis XIV . In February 1653 the young king danced the rising sun in a Paris show , and it was an immense success . The role is linked to his famous nickname , the Sun King . In March 1661 Louis founded the Royal Dance Academy in Paris . It had thirteen dancing masters chosen by the king . The king 's own teacher , Pierre Beauchamp , taught him for more than twenty - two years . Beauchamp is remembered for writing down the five positions of the feet , which dancers still learn . In 1700 Raoul - Auger Feuillet printed a way to write dances on paper . So an art born in Italy gained its written steps and names in France . That is why dancers far from Paris still use French words . Each plié is a small reminder of the king 's court . 
