Ballet can be traced back to Italy during the 1400’s at the time of the Renaissance.  The first ballet was called Comique de la Reine.  It was a magnificent spectacle and was performed in 1581 in honor of a royal wedding.  The ballet told the ancient Greek myth of Circe, who had the magical power to turn men into beasts.  The ballet was a great success and was imitated in many other European ballets.  Later, in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s Paris became the capital of the ballet world.  Soon after, pointe shoes were first invented.  Soon there were many new choreographers.  One choreographer was Marius Petipa.  He choreographed sleeping beauty and Swan Lake in the 1890’s; the parts in those shows are still the most desired parts by ballerinas today.  Ballet in the United States was mainly a result of Russian influence.  George Balanchine founded the company that become the world-famous New York City ballet.  Then, Milkhail Mordin started the company that is now known as American Ballet Theater under the direction of Lucia Chase.  American-born choreographers and dancers also helped contribute to the development of American ballet.  Choreographers such as Ruth Page, Agnes de Mille, and Jerome Robbins created new American themed ballets.  American dancers who gained fame in the 1900’s include Maria Tallchief, Suzanne Farrell, Cynthia Gregory, Edward Villella, and Arthur Mitchell.  By the 1920’s ballet started to spread through Australia and New Zealand.  Then, ballets in Europe became more popular in the 1930’s and the 1940’s.  In result, many more ballet companies were founded and ballet spread throughout the world.