Ballet developed from the masque and the first important ballet was given in 1581 in Paris Ballet Comique de la Reine to celebrate a royal wedding. Ballet achieved its most lavish and spectacular effects in the reign of Louis XIV and Paris became the epicentre of the new entertainment, with Lully (1632 - 1687) the guiding hand. A dancer himself, Lully greatly expanded the dance element in French opera until it gained parity with the voice, and thereafter the medium was dubbed opera ballet. Initially a court entertainment for the nobility, by 1671 ballet had migrated to the public theatre and Pomone by Cambert ran to packed houses for 8 months. Already established at court in Italy and England, ballet was now seen as a commercial enterprise and it rapidly spread across most of Europe. 

Rameau succeeded Lully as leading composer of opera and dance and contributed to the tradition that produced Adam, composer of Giselle, and Delibes, famous for Coppelia and Sylvia, culminating in the atmospheric and impressionistic 20th century style of Debussy in Jeux and Ravel in Daphnis & Chloe.

Some of the most famous ballet composers have created works that remain iconic, blending orchestral mastery with the expressive needs of dance.  Russia has produced several  renowned ballet composers including Tchaikovsky, known for such popular works as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, Stravinsky, for The Firebird and The Rite of Spring; and  Prokofiev, whose ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella are among the world's favourites.