Hey darlings! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet, www.pink-tutu.com, where every month we journey through time and discover the dazzling history of ballet. I'm your trusty pink tutu-clad guide, Emma, and this month we're setting our sights on a very special date – June 6th 1801.
This time, we're leaving our usual Victorian England behind and heading off to France! Yes, it's time to pack those sequined bloomers, polish our satin slippers, and saddle up with Magic Meg, my sparkling shire steed, for a gallop back to a time when Paris was truly the centre of the ballet world!
Before we leave, let me just say: My new pink tutu! It’s an absolute dream! It has layers of tulle that are as soft as a feather bed, and a whole line of little sparkling pink beads framing the hem. You’ll have to see it in my next vlog – my little niece, Tilly, says I should post a ballet dance in it! But for now, back to the 19th century, darlings!
Imagine it - the French Revolution has calmed, the world is slowly waking up from the slumber of political upheaval, and… what's this?! There’s a new age of elegance and beauty blossoming!
This period saw a huge boom in the ballet scene. The French Royal Academy of Music, where the legendary Jean-Georges Noverre was once a star choreographer, was bursting at the seams with talented ballerinas. It was the dawn of a new era in dance, and it all started in France.
As I trotted Magic Meg through the bustling streets of Paris, I was amazed at the beauty and excitement of this bustling city. We rode by the Theatre du Vaudeville – a gorgeous building decked out in chandeliers and twinkling lights, with crowds spilling out from every corner! I swear I even caught a glimpse of a famous actress, Mlle. Mars! But we had other appointments to keep, so it was off to the theatre, and then into the heart of Paris' elegant ballet society!
Imagine me, darlings, twirling into a grand ball, my pink tutu shimmering in the candlelight, surrounded by exquisite gentlemen and lovely ladies. It’s almost surreal. I imagined being a ballerina during this golden age, training my body for elegance and grace in the studio and then performing on these breathtaking stages! The stories in my leather rucksack about those ballerinas fill my heart with joy and inspire me to create my own little piece of history with my pink tutus and my magical time travel journey.
Of course, being a well-respected fashion blogger from Derbyshire (my home, dear!), I was in my element in the shopping districts of Paris! It was the best kind of ballet-related time travel shopping. Oh! My lovely little purse is full of stories about how fashion blossomed with new designs for the ballerinas. In fact, those graceful tulle dresses that many women still adore – their roots can be traced back to that period in the Parisian fashion! I just can’t wait to try to replicate them, but in my fabulous pink, of course!
There's nothing I love more than seeing what inspired ballerinas, especially in the late 1700s. It was like they wore a second skin! That soft ballet slipper worn under their beautifully embroidered satin shoes is just amazing. It must have taken hours to make those embroidered shoes, not to mention the hours the ballerina would have put in before and after the performance on a nightly basis. We know our training can be intense, but the hours of preparation in those days were truly epic! I was almost giddy with excitement seeing such an incredible performance at the opera house! And when a lovely, silver-haired lady stopped me, and we had the most enchanting conversation about the performance… it was magic. I realised how my own small way of keeping the history of ballet alive through this blog and my performances inspires those who are interested in it, too.
But alas, it was time to bid adieu to Paris. There were other stories waiting in other time periods. Before we set off to the next destination, Magic Meg took a rest in the stable, and I penned a little about the fascinating evolution of ballet fashion during those early days – the styles and fabrics. Maybe next month, I will post about this evolution!
Now I've been home to my lovely family, I’m planning some more performances. Maybe this time, it will be an early ballet piece. How lovely! It might inspire me for a future blog post. I will have to look into this! I hope you'll join me again next month as we time travel together to discover another incredible chapter in ballet history!
Until then, keep those pink tutus twirling!
Love,
Emma
P.S. If you love this ballet-history trip with me, please head on over to my Instagram @PinkTutuEmma for more adventures! And don’t forget, you can purchase my book “Emma's Adventures Through Time: 100 Pink Tutu Ballet Journeys” on my website – a must-have for any ballet lover!
