Final answer:
Romantic ballet flourished during the Romantic era, encompassing the end of the Rococo period, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars.
Step-by-step explanation:
The romantic ballet emerged during a time of significant historical upheaval and cultural shifts. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the decline of the Rococo period with its ornate aesthetics, giving way to the Romantic era's pursuit of emotional depth and individualism. This transformation in the artistic climate mirrored societal changes, including the tumult and reforms of the French Revolution and the ongoing Napoleonic Wars.
Several key factors influenced the development of romantic ballet. This period witnessed an infusion of new ideas into the arts, including a more profound interest in human experience, nature, and gothic elements, leading to ballets that often included idyllic scenery, as well as stories about ordinary people, expressing universal human concerns.
The political undercurrents of the time were also reflected in the arts. The French Revolution's call for equality and its questioning of traditional hierarchies carried over into the romantic arts, while the sense of nationalism and historical consciousness subsequent to the Napoleonic Wars informed the thematic content of many ballets.
It is against this backdrop of historical and cultural evolution that romantic ballet flourished, presenting dramatic storytelling through dance, music, and emotion - engaging with the dramas of the day and inspiring further developments in performance art. It is in this era of experimentation that we find the roots of contemporary theatrical and performance arts, including the modern American Musical.