Hello my lovelies! Emma here, your time-traveling, pink-tutu-loving ballet blogger from Derbyshire, ready to take you on another dazzling trip through history!
August is a month filled with vibrant energy and passion, and this time I'm venturing to a date steeped in history: August 8th 1666! Can you believe it's almost four hundred years ago? To get to the year 1666, I've called upon my trusty, pink-sparkling Shire horse, Magic Meg, and donned my favourite pink tutu, all shimmering with sparkling sequins. We're galloping back to the glorious reign of the French "Sun King" - King Louis XIV!
Now, this date is super exciting, darling, as it’s King Louis XIV's Birthday. The 14th, my dear readers, wasn’t just any King – he was an absolute ballet buff, practically a ballet choreographer in disguise, known for his fabulous leaps and dramatic grace. And he's been credited with establishing the Academy of Dance in 1661. This marked a truly monumental moment, helping shape what we now call Ballet as we know it!
But before I delve deeper into this Parisian playground of pom-poms and pirouettes, let’s look back to the big day! Louis XIV’s Birthday bash was a right royal knees-up with feasts, parades, and… drumroll please… Ballet performances! Can you imagine? Birthdays fit for a King in the world of ballet! It would be the very latest fashion show and performance all rolled into one. Now that's how you celebrate!
Back then, dance wasn’t just for pleasure, you see. It was considered an important part of courtly life, a chance to showcase not only artistic skill but also social grace, like a perfect little curtsy, you know! I bet they’d love a glimpse of my fancy twirls – I can only imagine the gasps and murmurs if I popped into one of their performances, all in my glitzy, twirling tutu, oh my!
The grand ballet performance, the "Ballet de la Nuit," which translates as "The Ballet of the Night", was one of the first ever recorded works of classical ballet! And you know what, it even featured the King himself on stage, twirling and leap-frogging like a true ballet star! Imagine that, wearing a fancy powdered wig and velvet trousers – I'm sure it would have been most theatrical.
The choreography and the themes of this spectacular show centred around themes of love, dreams, and mythology, giving a taste of the classical elements that ballet is known for today. They wouldn’t be just fancy steps, they would be a true dance spectacle – telling tales and weaving magic with movement!
Now, let me share a little secret I uncovered in the palace archives, a little gem I stashed into my leather rucksack: They used real live, feathered peacocks in the “Ballet of the Night!” Can you imagine? Just imagine their colourful, tail feathers and those elegant dance moves of a peacock! I have to find a way to introduce real peacocks to one of my future ballet performances - I know my Derbyshire audiences would adore it!
To picture how incredible this court ballet was, picture a magnificent palace stage, bedecked with gilded decorations and lit by a thousand flickering candles. The finest musicians would be playing a symphony of string instruments and horns as the performers – in stunning silks and satins – performed incredible moves in front of the royal court, including all the important noble figures.
King Louis, always an absolute darling, even played the role of the "Sun", bringing joy and life to all his people, a role perfectly suited to such a charismatic king!
I can just imagine, darlings, the gasps of delight, the sparks of awe in the eyes of those lucky nobles who witnessed this spectacular. Can't you?
But while we're celebrating the magic of this performance, let’s also acknowledge a somber shadow looming over this August 8th, 1666. This same day, in the streets of London, England, a catastrophic fire ignited. A mere six weeks later, the Great Fire of London burned for days and consumed a vast part of the city!
However, don't you worry, lovelies, I'm not going to leave you on a sombre note. Even in the face of hardship and loss, life went on, and in a way, so did ballet. After the flames died down, the stage for dance would continue to grow even brighter. It is a reminder that just like ballet itself, resilience and the beauty of art have a way of triumphing, no matter what challenges life throws our way.
As my time-traveling ballet blogger adventure continues, I'll keep bringing you closer to the world of ballet through the ages, showing you how its rich history shapes our love of ballet today.
So, my dear lovelies, make sure to join me for more tutu-licious trips through history and share your thoughts with me on my website www.pink-tutu.com, as I'd love to hear about what ballet moments you've enjoyed.
Until next time, keep dancing, keep shining, and don’t forget, there's a pink tutu out there for everyone, waiting to be twirled!
Love,
Emma xx
