Educational aspects in the Russian ballet of the 18th century

This article aims to analyze the social role of ballet theater in Russia in the 18th century as an embodiment of the educational function within non-verbal art. The theatrical culture of the Russian Empire in its initial period has become particularly attractive to researchers in recent decades as an era of the origin and development of the domestic theatrical process; however, the interaction with the audience rarely becomes the subject of study in ballet studies. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the problem of the dialogue between the Enlightenment ideas embedded in the ballet performances of the 18th century and the social ideas of the philosophy of the Enlightenment era, which became the topic of a separate article for the first time. The idea of education becomes one of the most important for that time, directly related to the influence of culture on the future of both individual states and, more broadly, the history of mankind as a whole. Given the fact that in the era under study, the need for regular theatrical impressions in Russian society is formed only by the end of the century, when the final separation of the ballet and opera genres from each other also occurs, special attention is paid to the embodiment in musical theater of the ideas transmitted by the imperial court in visible images, which become a separate means of communication between the monarch and his subjects, and the special connection of ballet with the ruling figure, which was characteristic of that time. As a result of the study, the path of the ballet performance to its becoming a favorite spectacle of the domestic public in both capitals is revealed, as well as the peculiarities of its perception by the viewer and the impact it has on him as a demonstration of appropriate behavior, an exemplary model for an enlightened person, who in the near future was to be the embodiment of the policy of transformation and improvement of Russia carried out in the 18th century.