Hello darlings! It's Emma here, and you know what? I'm positively giddy with excitement. Today, we're hopping aboard Magic Meg and making a dash for a spectacular adventure in time! This month, we're landing in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the 1st of January, 1810.
As you all know, this pink tutu-loving heart beats for anything and everything ballet, so imagine my delight at arriving in the city of St. Petersburg during its glittering golden age! This city was practically buzzing with cultural events, and guess what? Ballet was the heartbeat of the social scene. Can you imagine the incredible spectacle it must have been?
Now, I can practically feel the magic tingling in the air. Picture this: the Imperial Theatre, grand and dazzling, the epitome of opulence and splendour, and within it, a talented ballerina named Ekaterina Sergeyevna Telegina, preparing to grace the stage. Yes, dear readers, this date holds the distinction of marking the debut performance of Ekaterina Telegina!
Can you imagine? Such a momentous occasion! And of course, my darling Magic Meg was galloping ahead of me, so excited to get her golden hooves to the theatre, practically prancing with excitement! She simply adores being part of my adventures through time, even though the occasional cobbled street can make her white mane and tail a little…well, dusty.
Once we reached the grand, towering entrance of the Imperial Theatre, we were greeted by a whirlwind of excitement and anticipation. It's just like our ballet schools, except more glamorous. Imagine silks, furs, shimmering jewels, and the murmur of conversations in the Russian language (which, by the way, I am desperately trying to learn; more on that later).
Speaking of jewels, just before my performance, I snuck away with Magic Meg to a hidden antique shop nestled in a back street. Inside, I stumbled upon a beautiful set of antique ballet slippers - the delicate silk, so exquisitely crafted, made me absolutely swoon! Of course, they’re currently in my backpack now, but when I'm back in my time, they’ll find a new, sparkling life as the centerpiece in my pink tutu collection. Oh, it's just exquisite, a timeless beauty I can’t resist adding to my collection!
Now, back to that debut performance: I could just see Ekaterina Telegina's sparkling eyes full of determination as she prepped for her big moment, and I could practically feel the pulse of the theatre audience, buzzing with anticipation for the performance. This debut would, no doubt, have been the stuff of legends, launching Telegina into the pantheon of Russian ballet greats. Just picturing her elegant movements, her powerful leaps, and her passionate grace filled my heart with an almost overwhelming sense of inspiration. I’ve already found the score to her first ballet from the year.
Imagine, this is why I love my ballet adventures through time. You get to see how our ballet heritage began and watch some incredible dancers! The ballet world is alive with stories from the past and inspiration from its pioneers. I want to see them all, all of these ballet giants, even if they’re lost to the pages of history! That is what I do, I uncover them.
While you are living your life, enjoying ballet class, shows, maybe the ballet inspired movie or two - I'll keep digging and sharing. Keep an eye out, I have a new ballet related film coming out about a beautiful ballet dancer based on a beautiful story and a magical horse. It should be out later in the year, or maybe next year. There's also some fantastic work I'm planning on putting together for an international dance magazine. They say I am a pioneer - a female trail blazer, it's quite amusing how people see the tutu and forget all about the talent that's inside!
Well, that's it from me for now. Until next time, remember, dear reader, every day is a dance - a new adventure in the pink-tutu-dusted world. Go on and twirl to your heart’s content, I'm just off to put a couple more of the little gems I picked up in St Petersburg into my collection. They are fabulous!
Your Pink Tutu Friend, Emma xx
P.S Make sure you visit the Pink Tutu website! It's chock full of all my amazing ballet history articles, photos and links to my videos. www.pink-tutu.com
