Hello my lovelies, and welcome back to Pink Tutu Time Travels! This month's adventure takes us way back in time to the 10th of October, 1779. Fancy a little journey through the mists of history? Buckle up your ballet shoes, grab a cheeky cuppa, and let's go! (This is post number 1426 for those keeping count, you can find it all at www.pink-tutu.com, do pop over and have a browse at the other blog posts. You're all fab!)
Right, I'm Emma, and as you know, I’m a passionate ballerina with an insatiable appetite for all things pink and tutu-tastic. Time travel is my jam! I mean, what's a tutu-loving, dance-obsessed girl to do, when her favourite pastimes include swirling around a stage and discovering the stories of ballerinas throughout history, right?
Magic Meg, my sparkly pink Shire with the golden hooves, who wouldn't know a time portal if it slapped her on the nose, is pawing the ground impatiently, so let's jump right in, shall we? As always, my leather rucksack is packed ready to collect stories and ballet trinkets!
We set off from my little Derbyshire village towards the swirling vortex that is a time portal. As I arrive, the air shimmers with the intoxicating fragrance of musk and powder – oh my, those ladies were just as obsessed with fashion then as we are today, and just as obsessed with their toilette rituals.
On this particular October day in 1779, London is abuzz! The latest craze? Ballet fashion! Oh, what an amazing day to be time traveling. Everyone's talking about ballet, not just on stage, but off stage, and what is being worn. Everyone wants a touch of ballet magic. Even Queen Charlotte herself was reportedly interested in getting a little danse into her dress!
I can’t quite believe that in these earlier ballet days, a little piece of tulle would have been a treasured piece of luxury fabric! Honestly, it just goes to show how much fashion has come full circle! Our tutu-centric styles from a few centuries back make it clear: ballet was already influencing fashion. Now you're all up on the latest gossip about the tutu trend. Who wouldn’t want a pink tulle ballgown? They're oh-so elegant and effortlessly floaty – think Marie Antoinette and le ballet! Swoon
At Covent Garden Theatre, the grandest theatre in London at the time, I’m catching The Judgement of Paris, by a super-famous composer by the name of Giovanni Battista Viotti. He had one of the greatest talents in violin playing and even earned the title of 'Prince of the Violinists’.
I’ve taken my place in the bustling, glamorous crowd of aristocrats who gather each evening. I've popped my trusty pocket-sized mirror out (a girl's got to stay on top of her makeup game!), and my, oh my! There are so many beautifully designed dresses and accessories to admire. What an age of beautiful clothes! This is a ballet heaven! The fashion sense here is divine. I feel so inspired. I must remember these fabulous fashion styles, perhaps I will even bring a touch of 1779 back to the 21st century!
I had such a laugh watching a handsome nobleman in powdered wig attempting the ‘French quadrille’ with a very fashionable lady who must have weighed all of five stones! Let's just say that their steps didn't match quite as well as they might have. I suppose everyone wants a bit of dance, even those with two left feet. I can almost hear a few tut-tutting noises, perhaps from a grumpy ballerina.
Let's take a step back and imagine the dancing that was gracing the London stages. It wasn’t like the breathtaking spectacle that we enjoy now. Even a skilled dancer in this time would have been unable to make those long effortless leaps, jumps and turns.
Ballets of that era, they were less about the grand jumps and dazzling virtuosity, and more about the graceful and elegant steps. You’d be more likely to see a delicate port de bras or a beautiful sequence of delicate movements, like what you might see in a classical Pas de Deux (a beautiful duo between two dancers). Imagine a little waltz under the beautiful chandeliers, an intermingling of stories and music – enchanting!
As you can imagine, with all this chatter about ballet in 1779, there's lots of people eager to attend these captivating shows! The audience, is just as important as the stage performers in contributing to a show’s success. Everyone wants to see the new fashions! That's how fashion travels the world, in beautiful movements like those that occur in a performance.
Speaking of ballet and fashion, imagine all the little ladies watching these productions and longing to copy their ballet idols. It’s like looking in a magic mirror to our times, when ballerina-inspired clothing and dancewear have taken the world by storm! This passion for dancing has led us to a world where ballet fashions, those enchanting tutu-laden skirts, inspire designers to bring forth collections fit for royalty. Oh the glamorous world of dance and fashion!
We have the time traveling Magic Meg to thank for our incredible travels through history! Isn’t time travel just so brilliant? It allows me to not only step back in time but to see, learn, and feel! To feel the thrill of those early ballets and to soak up all those stylish dances and captivating dresses!
As the stage lights fade and the last applause reverberates, we journey back to the present. With my bag packed full of newfound knowledge, and inspiration galore, I return home. Time travel is simply wonderful! It helps us to be open to the extraordinary stories of the past! Who knows what other fascinating ballet fashion stories we’ll stumble upon next month!
Stay sparkly, my lovelies. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog at www.pink-tutu.com!
Until next time, Au revoir!
Emma x
