Hey everyone! Emma here, your resident pink tutu-wearing time traveller! I'm so excited to share with you another thrilling adventure, this time taking me all the way back to 1668! Buckle up, because this is a particularly exciting one...
As always, my trusty steed, the magnificent Magic Meg, a pink-sparkling Shire horse with golden hooves and a shimmering white mane and tail, was patiently awaiting my arrival in the stable behind my Derbyshire cottage. We were set for another time-traveling escapade, with my pink tutu spinning happily in the breeze as I hopped on Meg's back.
This month's journey took us back to 1668, a significant date for all things ballet! It was the year of the first official performance by the Académie Royale de Danse, a momentous occasion that laid the foundation for French classical ballet as we know it. It marked the beginning of a golden age of ballet in Europe!
Now, imagine, if you will, the atmosphere. The royal court of Louis XIV, resplendent in velvet and jewels, the gilded halls of the Palais-Royal, the hushed anticipation of the audience as the curtain rose for the very first time... The air would have been thick with excitement and, of course, the elegant sweep of pink, as the dancers took to the stage in their early forms of ballet slippers!
Can you even imagine the awe in their eyes as they beheld such beauty and skill on display for the first time? It was truly a magical event!
After our grand time travelling adventure through the history of ballet, my backpack, always a repository for beautiful trinkets and interesting stories from different periods, was bursting with tales from that magnificent evening. I have a little sketch of a beautiful ballerina's costume, done in pen and ink by a travelling artist, as well as a poem about the grandeur of the occasion - pure romanticism in the heart of France!
Now, let's not forget the practicalities of this incredible event. It seems Louis XIV himself played a significant part in establishing the Academy. His passion for dance was a key factor in its creation. He loved to dance himself! Just think of it, a royal figure so enraptured by ballet, that he sponsored its formal establishment!
What was even more amazing, this Royal Academy took inspiration from two major figures of the ballet world. The French Master of Dance, Pierre Beauchamp, was instrumental in developing the technical and codified techniques of ballet that would shape future generations of dancers. He was the original ballet master, the first to really lay down the principles of dance - something which I was completely awestruck by! Imagine how his influence rippled through time to shape the artform we love so much today!
And, the Academy's training, in true royal fashion, focused on the elegance, poise, and impeccable grace of the court. This would ultimately establish France as the focal point of the European ballet scene for centuries!
Now, the Académie Royale de Danse certainly wasn’t all about pomp and circumstance. This period also saw the development of fundamental elements of ballet, which I simply adore:
The five ballet positions: Imagine, if you will, those precise and perfectly balanced positions! The perfect combination of strength and grace, still seen in ballet today!
Choreographic steps: They invented steps like the pirouette! What grace and finesse, even today, dancers command over the stage! It’s incredible how they captured these movements on paper back in those early days.
And who could forget, those incredibly long ballet tutus? Oh my goodness, they just look like a cloud! What's a ballerina to do without her elegant and dramatic tutu? Everyone deserves to feel that magic. It's just too good to be confined to the stage.
While time travel isn’t an everyday experience for most, we can all feel the energy of the early ballet world around us. Go watch a performance at your local theatre or ballet company. Get out to a class, explore the art and technique, feel the history around you. There’s such incredible joy to be found! You know, that magical moment when you get those positions perfect or nail a new turn.
Even better, you know the most important thing is to spread the magic! Everyone can feel their inner ballerina, regardless of what they wear. Just wear a pink tutu and let the world see your radiant self! It truly is contagious, you know. Once you wear a pink tutu, it just happens. It’s about joy, about grace, about the thrill of being on stage in your own special way!
And don't forget, there's always more to be found on my website, www.pink-tutu.com. I’ll keep sharing more tales of the pink tutu world!
See you all next month, and remember, embrace the ballerina inside you! And if you want to see me live, I'll be performing my newest solo at the Theatre Royal Nottingham next month. Details will be posted on the blog, of course!
