Hello my darlings! Itās Emma here, your resident pink tutu wearing time traveller extraordinaire, back with another juicy blast from the pastā¦or should I say, future? (Slaps a sparkly, sequined, and very pink fan to her forehead dramatically).
Anyway, grab a cuppa, darling, ācos today we're diving into the magnificent world of drag on January 1st, 2033!
The year is 2033 and, frankly, the drag world is absolutely blooming! Like, absolutely blossoming, flourishing, andā¦well, you get the picture! You know how I am with a metaphor, it's an art, darlings. But seriously, 2033 saw some truly iconic moments. We're talking legendary performances, dazzling new drag styles, and a real explosion of LGBTQ+ acceptance, both in the media and on the street. And, as you know, nothing brings me more joy than a pink tutu strutting its way into a drag show!
Okay, you know how much I love to research. This time, I didn't need a time travelling tutu for my research. (You know, that little number with its sparkly trim and its penchant for disappearing in puffs of glittery smoke. Love it. Love, love it. It is a fabulous thing, but quite a drain on my energy!) I managed to hop online at the Drag History archives at the worldās most amazing Drag Museum ā that fabulous place in Brooklyn!
What were the biggest highlights of 2033? Well, letās take a little peek, shall we?
*A Drag Queen in Every City: *
This year, we saw the phenomenal rise of community-based drag. Iām talking drag taking over pubs, bars, community centresā¦well, pretty much any space imaginable. This felt revolutionary. From the little village of Glossop up in Derbyshire to the heart of Mumbai, people were seeing drag every day. And why shouldn't they? Itās fabulous! This grassroots movement made drag accessible to everyone. Now, everybody knows what itās like to see a fierce queen sashay onto the scene in their neighbourhood. Itās simply incredible. And of course, everyone in Derbyshire was now sporting my beloved pink tutu (at least at our bi-monthly village hall shows!) I am still trying to get my tutu collection shipped into India, though, so fingers crossed.
*A Drag Queen in Spaceā¦No, Really? *
Listen up, darlings! You wonāt believe this. It really was quite the head-scratcher, even for me, with my extensive drag knowledge. A well-known Drag House sent a queen into space as part of a huge publicity campaign! They did it! They went and put a Drag Queen in outer space. And her name? Well, her space stage name was Celeste Galaxia. Her makeup look had cosmic shimmer, she had hair-styled into galaxy swirls, and it was just mind blowing. Oh, and there she was, on that spaceship. Andā¦ you wonāt believe this, darlings! She performed in space! Not only did she nail a high-flying, futuristic choreography, she also hosted a drag competition with other queensā¦from Mars. Yeah, from Mars! Now, who thought it would be a good idea to send a Drag Queen to the red planet? The marketing folks, darlings! The marketing folks. And did they ever! She came back a rockstar, all that space travel, performing from the station, oh it was simplyā¦out of this world, honey! The fact is that in this year, Drag became international. It took over, even on Mars! It did! The red planet has its first ever drag show. We live in exciting times.
Reality Television and Drag
Okay, 2033 wasnāt just a time for revolutionary performances and space travel, it was a huge year for drag on the telly! Drag has never been more mainstream. Every TV channel in the land had a drag show. We're talking fashion challenges, hilarious improv comedy sketches, amazing live music performancesā¦ I mean, honestly, could drag get any bigger than this? There was a hilarious drag cooking show too! āDrag Bites!ā Now I was glued to that. Seeing some of those big Drag Mothers getting their hands dirty in a kitchen was absolute gold. Thereās something about watching a fabulous queen with perfectly styled hair battle with a messy recipe for sticky date pudding. Itās truly entertaining, and, most importantly, very funny!
And, can we talk about āDrag Superstar 2033?ā That was like, the ultimate drag competition. This year, the Drag Superstars went to Amsterdam, India, Australia, Chinaā¦ It was mind blowing. Honestly, those girls looked amazing, with all that jetlag.
The judges were legendary, the talent was unreal. I could hardly breathe throughout the entire thing. I canāt even pick a favourite, all of them were stars! All that hard work, all those stunning looks! The whole show had a strong theme about the future and drag. It had this amazing, modern feel, and honestly it just felt groundbreaking. I spent weeks obsessing over it.
The History Behind the Tutu:
Right, this month, in honour of this truly momentous time in drag history, weāre going to dig into that very pink tutu of mine!
Now, the tutu isnāt actually that old in the grand scheme of things, my darlings. It first entered our dance world around the 1840s with Maria Taglioni, this legendary ballet dancer. It all started with the ballet "La Sylphide", the ballet for which the tutu is famously known, where, in her dancing, Taglioni wore somethingā¦ daring! It was different. The costumes at the time were huge, flowing, quite heavy and really obscuring a ballerinaās figure. Now, imagine that! She didn't care much for these, no! She wanted to express herself and, letās face it, look really graceful! Taglioni, she was a real rebel, thatās why I love her so. She wanted something to help her movement flow. This made all those ballerinasā¦ all the dance divas, look much slimmer, more lithe, more graceful, more graceful and all those dancers? They embraced the short tulle skirt, oh they loved it, it was revolutionising. What a visionary! You know, sometimes all we need is one good-hearted visionary and something new and groundbreaking comes along! The short tutu changed how the whole ballet world worked and let the dancers fly. Literally!
And the name ātutuā itself, it comes from a 19th-century French word which is similar to, likeā¦ "stuff" in English. Because itās all about layers of delicate fabric ā that's why they were so different. And you know me, a tutu made of layers upon layers, it just brings me pure joy. Layers are really important for getting a stunningly voluminous shape, my darlings, you already know that! But enough of my dance lesson.
As we all know, the tutu took over. It has always been popular but with the rising fame of ballet during the 19th Century, it truly becameā¦ The Thing to be seen wearing in. The romantic ballets, those are all over the place at this time, so you can imagine a plethora of pretty ballerinas looking dazzling in a tutu. It really had reached an iconic status. You would be hard-pressed to find a ballet that doesnāt have a tutu! Even now, they are pretty common. And that is something truly fabulous. The tutu is one of the most recognizable items in dance!
You already know what happened next: the tutu, in its sheer gorgeousness, was adopted into Drag culture. They look just so magnificent onstage and when a drag queen walks by! You canāt even tell that it was designed for dancers in the first place! We took this fabulous item, weāve used it, and made it completely our own, all those frills, those colours! It works in such a great way on the stage! Oh the tulle, it brings so much character and expression. There is this wonderful playful air about them. It makes so much sense. When we take these traditional dancewear pieces and add in glitter, feather boas and big lashes - magic! Just pure magic, darling!
And it's still the best, isnāt it? If there is a tutu onstage? You bet itās going to get everyoneās attention. Even if there is only one! A tutu is a great way to announce your arrival on stage. The more, the better, and those tiers of tulle ā itās all about making an impression. I really cannot live without them.
This January, if you can, my dear darlings, why not slip into a fabulous pink tutu? Embrace the beautiful tutu and its dance world and drag world legacy. Even for one day. I know, you may be thinking, itās just a tutu, but a fabulous pink one, like the one I love so dearlyā¦ well, that is a sign that you are about to be magnificent, about to sparkle, about to sashay! Itās the start of a new year. Make the time, my darlings. Live it. Embrace your inner glamour.
Iām going off to look for that fabulous pink tutu, the one thatās always waiting for me. It will always take me places. Wherever Iāll end up? Who knows. This monthās journey might be out of this worldā¦ in more ways than one. Until next time!
Much love and big hugs,
Emma x
P.S. Don't forget to visit www.pink-tutu.com for the latest news, and donāt forget to keep an eye out for my upcoming shows this month, especially my newest show: āPink Tutu Diaries ā Tales of Time Travel Through Historyā. I hope you love it!
