The historical time periods of Renaissance and Baroque helped shape ballet into the form of dance that it is today. These two periods had many similarities, but also, many differences. The transition between the Renaissance period to the Baroque period was smooth and crucial in developing how ballet is danced, performed and viewed today. The idea of dance has come a long way over the last couple of centuries; moreover, modern-day dance would not be what it is today without these historical periods. There was a drastic change in dance technique during the 14th and 15th century specifically between the Renaissance and Baroque period regarding complexity, how the dances were viewed and the physical movement.

Renaissance dancing and Baroque dancing shared the goal of technical dance; however, Renaissance dancing was simple and minimal while Baroque dancing was complex, precise and well defined. Renaissance dance "consisted of simple dances that took little or no practice that included an unlimited number of participants dancing in circles, lines, or columns, such as branles and the pavan" (Brainard). Renaissance dance was still technical; however, the steps were minimal and not as complex as Baroque. Matthew Lewis, a medieval dance researcher, stated that "Renaissance dancing is the earliest European dances which can be reconstructed with any confidence." Lewis ' ideas explain the minimalism of Renaissance dancing. Renaissance dance was also social and incorporated a lot of