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In traditional Catholic moral theology, ballet is considered immoral due to its inherent violations of modesty and chastity, as it often involves revealing attire and provocative movements that serve as proximate occasions of sin for both performers and spectators. St. Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787), a Doctor of the Church and renowned moral theologian, explicitly warns against such activities in his writings, emphasizing the spiritual dangers they pose. In Advice to Parents, he advises, “Parents should prohibit their children from all games, which bring destruction on their families and on their own souls, and also dances, suggestive entertainment, and certain dangerous conversations and parties of pleasures.” This prohibition extends to ballet, which, as a form of theatrical dance, fosters sensuality and vanity, leading souls away from purity and toward moral ruin. Liguori’s perspective underscores that any form of dance that incites lust or immodesty is gravely sinful, aligning with his broader teachings on avoiding occasions of sin to preserve grace.

In Sermon XLVII: On Bad Thoughts, St. Alphonsus continues, ”You must, moreover, avoid dances with females and profane comedies: at least when the dances or comedies are immodest... Hence, they [parents] are the cause of all these evils, and shall be severely chastised by God for them.” Ballet’s movements and positions further exacerbate its immorality, as they frequently involve sensual poses, lifts, and extensions that mimic or evoke eroticism, making purity difficult to maintain. In dance forms like ballet, the body’s contortions serve vanity rather than virtue. Moral theologians in the Alphonsian tradition, such as Jean-Baptiste Bouvier (1783-1854), extend this to modern dances, declaring that “the German dance, vulgarly called Waltz, can never be permitted” due to its illicit contact and gestures—principles that apply even more stringently to ballet’s elaborate and often intimate choreography.

The immodesty of ballet attire is a central concern among traditional theologians, as it exposes the body in ways that contradict the virtue of temperance and the dignity of the human person. Fr. Théophile-Marie Ortolan (1869-1937), a theologian who contributed the article on “Danse” to the Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, echoes the consensus of moralists like Benedictus Henricus Merkelbach (1871-1942), condemning performing arts such as ballet for their use of “tight clothing, pastel or skin-colored apparel, and revealing or transparent dresses.” Merkelbach, in his Summa Theologiae Moralis, upholds Thomistic principles that prioritize moral order, viewing such displays as intrinsically disordered and likely to arouse impure thoughts. This attire alone, according to these theologians, constitutes a grave sin against modesty, compounded by the cultural context where ballet often prioritizes aesthetic allure over spiritual edification, thus scandalizing others and cooperating in their potential downfall.

Henry Davis, S.J. (1866-1952), in his influential Moral and Pastoral Theology, categorizes certain dances as “works of Satan,” associating them with temptations that undermine the Christian life and lead to spiritual death. Davis’s framework, rooted in casuistry and pastoral guidance, warns that theatrical performances, including ballet, introduce elements of indecency that erode moral fiber, such as suggestive jokes or displays that parallel the sensuality in dance. This view aligns with Merkelbach’s emphasis on conscience and moral principles, where participation in or attendance at ballet risks mortal sin if it deliberately exposes one to lustful occasions. Davis urges Catholics to avoid such spectacles, as they not only harm individual souls but also contribute to societal moral decay by normalizing immodesty under the guise of art.

Ultimately, traditional Catholic theologians like St. Alphonsus, Merkelbach, and Davis converge on the conclusion that ballet is immoral because it fails to safeguard chastity, instead promoting a worldly sensuality that opposes the Gospel’s call to holiness. As Ortolan notes, even well-intentioned dances become sinful when they involve “sensual twisting or vibration of the waist, no lifting of the legs or jumps that reveal what the dress covers.” In an era of widespread cultural acceptance, these teachings remind the faithful that true art must elevate the soul toward God, not ensnare it in earthly passions, making ballet a perilous pursuit that demands repentance and avoidance for the salvation of souls.

If you disagree, feel free to comment pointing me to a Catholic saint or traditional Catholic theologian explicitly arguing that ballet—as the classical theatrical dance form that emerged in the Renaissance courts and professionalized in the 17th–19th centuries—is morally good or permissible.

The strange thing is that there are "Trads" who disagree with this.

Don’t be insane puritan!! I did mention to a couple of trad priests that some extremists think ballet is immoral. The priests both said this is ridiculous.

Also there’s some nutter here in UK started a group called the anti dance group for Catholics’ and his priest had to speak to him about being like a Protestant. You’re not him are you??

I have family in the entertainment industry, one a professional ballet dancer (all are practicing Catholics and very devout).