#BalletHistory during 1668 10 October

Hello, fellow pink tutu lovers! Emma here, your time-travelling ballerina blogger, ready to whisk you away to the heart of ballet history – specifically, 10th October 1668! Buckle up, because we’re about to gallop through time on Magic Meg’s shimmering pink coat!

As you may know, I've been absolutely captivated by the Royal Ballet for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a little girl, twirling around my Derbyshire home in a pink tutu, I’ve dreamed of dancing on the legendary stage of the Royal Opera House. This date is particularly special to me – it marks the founding of the Académie Royale de Danse, which evolved into the Royal Ballet that we know and love today!

You might think that, with my passion for all things pink and tutu-related, this would be a ballet-centric time period I would be right at home in, right? Well, picture this: Imagine me in my flowing pink tutu, standing in the heart of 17th century Paris, surrounded by men in breeches and powdered wigs… It wasn’t quite the scene I expected! The ballet of that time was quite different, focused on masculine power and a lot of intricate jumps and acrobatics – nothing like the graceful elegance I adore. Don’t worry, I didn’t let it dampen my spirits!

Today’s travel has been particularly exciting because, even though the tutus were less flowing, the energy was incredible! The Academie Royale de Danse was full of talented dancers from across Europe, including the famous Monsieur Beauchamps, who would later become the director of the academy. I felt such an electric buzz in the room as I witnessed them train. I imagined myself on that stage, and honestly? I felt the very same passion and determination I feel in my own classes, only centuries ago!

My trusty rucksack is bursting with new stories from this incredible journey – my favourite has got to be about a group of young ladies, the ‘dancing ladies’ as they were known, who danced in a lavish and very pink-toned ballet costume of silks, satins and feathers for King Louis XIV. (The king himself had his own dancing school and performed on stage in his own ballet spectacles, believe it or not!) The pink is clearly not a modern invention, darling!

However, my absolute favourite element of my time travel was being able to actually witness a performance! Oh, the beauty! While not my personal style, the athleticism and raw talent of the dancers was incredible to behold. While not the flowing ballets we adore today, it laid the foundation for the graceful art we see on stages across the world.

Just imagine what we can do now, being able to see a ballet every week and then come home and put on a pretty pink tutu – it really does give me a chance to reflect on how far ballet has come since then, from such small beginnings in Paris. It shows just how enduring our favourite art form really is.

So, here’s to the 10th of October, a day for celebrating the start of the journey that lead to the incredible ballets we have today, and of course to pink tutus – timeless, always fashionable and definitely an element to be embraced wherever and whenever we find ourselves in our own journey!

That’s all for this month, my dears! Stay tuned for next month's adventure on the www.pink-tutu.com blog and, as always, keep on twirling!

Lots of love,

Emma

xx

Here’s what I found in my time-travelling adventures this month…

My finds:

• I unearthed a sketch of the original stage in the Paris Opera House, which, although beautiful and very intricate, isn’t what we’re used to seeing now!

• I picked up an incredible antique* pair of leather pointe shoes* – though much less delicate than our current footwear, they still give us a wonderful look into what was possible at the time. And you just KNOW those shoes were very hard to wear for such an energetic style of dancing. You give the ballet dancers of today props, right?!

• And just wait till you hear what I have in store next! In my quest for ballet items of interest, I stumbled upon a whole trunk full of handwritten sheet music from “Le Ballet des Dames”, an elaborate 17th century court ballet created just for King Louis XIV and his love of all things dancing.

You’ll find all of this and more on my next blog post. Keep a look out!

• My ballet performances are the fuel for these time travels, so be sure to follow me on the @pinktutublog for news about my shows – and more updates on my incredible time travel escapades!

  • Follow me on @pink_tutu for the latest trends in pink tutus ( and to see how you can incorporate them into your everyday wear).

And of course, never, ever forget… pink is never out of fashion, and EVERYONE can look wonderful in a pink tutu.