Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx

Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx (modernized French: Balthazar de Beaujoyeux [baltazaʁ də boʒwajø]), originally Baldassare da (or di) Belgiojoso (modern Italian pronunciation: [baldasˈsaːre da/di beldʒoˈjoːzo]; died c. 1587 in Paris) was an Italian violinist, composer, and choreographer.

He participated in the masquerade Défense du paradis in 1572 and mounted the Ballet aux ambassadeurs polonais in 1573: one of the first works to be recognized as a true court ballet, staged to honor the Polish ambassadors who were visiting Paris upon the accession of Henry of Anjou to the throne of Poland.

[1][2] On 24 September 1581 Henry III's favorite the Duke de Joyeuse married Marguerite de Lorraine (1564–1625), daughter of Nicolas, Duke of Mercœur and sister of the queen consort Louise of Lorraine.

For the wedding celebrations Queen Louise devised and presented a five-and-a-half-hour dance extravaganza called the Ballet Comique de la Reine which cost over a million écu.

[4][5] Since it incorporated a story line about the legend of the mythological enchantress Circe, it is generally regarded as the first ballet.