Hello lovelies! It’s Emma here, back with another month’s worth of enchanting tales from my ballet time travels. And this month, darling, it’s all about Paris! Fancy a little journey to the City of Lights with me?
Oh, the thrill of it all, travelling by the magical, sparkly hooves of my trusty Meg, she really does make getting around in the past so much easier! This time we’re in 1882, and I’ve just shimmied my way to the opulent Opéra Garnier, which opened in 1875, right before we set off on this ballet adventure. The architect Charles Garnier took a massive gamble on this building, it's such a riot of marble, gilt, and a huge ceiling, designed to create an aura of the divine, just like we dream of when we pirouette.
I must confess, I felt rather self-conscious entering in my pale pink tulle tutu. The French people had quite a taste for the bold back then, they loved their bright colors and ruffles! You’d find women and even men walking around sporting silks and velvets and massive ostrich feathers!
I was desperate to get inside the Opera House! I just love that the whole theatre is a work of art, so detailed, it feels like you’re walking into a dream! Every angle, every archway and detail makes it the most spectacularly extravagant theatre you've ever seen. I do love the Grand Staircase, perfect for a little practice of arabesques! I feel so alive and free in that dazzling space, a little like stepping out from a romantic painting!
Just like my last trip, it seems my arrival caused a little stir, as it turns out 1882 Paris is all abuzz with balletomania, they’re just as besotted with ballet as we are now! I took my usual post just by the curtain where I could hear whispers of what the public was talking about. I also peeked into some of the many luxurious boxes on each level. And of course I whipped out my pink tutu as soon as possible, which got some excited chatter about “La robe volante.” Oh, those Parisian women, just love a little flutter of a pink tutu I suspect!
I've even found a copy of the ballet poster for “La Source,” an intriguing mix of classical Greek drama, featuring graceful naiads (and possibly a mermaid!) dancing by a waterfall and a rather daring love story… perfect for the dramatic dance scenes I saw in the Salle Garnier, as the stage came alive with these mythical beings, a real triumph of balletic genius! What caught my eye on this trip was La Source's dramatic pas de deux. Such passion and such precision, so beautiful. The love story unfolded like magic, it made my own heart beat a little faster.
Then the dancers took their final bows, and everyone was clapping like a storm! The crowd gave a roaring “bravos” as they’d usually call them back for a series of curtain calls. The whole scene, all the costumes and the magic, the atmosphere in the theatre was so exhilarating! I'm getting back to Paris on Meg just to have another experience of it all.
Well, as I often do in my time travels, I'm off to wander, searching for ballet shops for my next post and who knows, perhaps a ballet school too, you know me, I just can't resist, the charm of it all. Perhaps I will learn the intricacies of La Source...or if not the intricacies maybe at least a simple graceful promenade, a beautiful way to explore the heart of the City of Lights, which was an endless inspiration for fashion. This is the Paris of Offenbach, of Toulouse-Lautrec, of Sarah Bernhardt...such opulent colours in clothing! The dancers really were a reflection of the elegance of the times!
So I’m going to leave you for now. You know what to do… check out www.pink-tutu.com and have a whirl in your favourite pink tutu, let's make everyone see just how much we love ballet in its many fabulous forms. Don’t forget to give Meg and me a little shout out, and until next time, au revoir, lovelies!
Now, how did my pink tutu come about? I've been following this line of thought, and a particular ballerina that fits in with our journey so well and I found this little article that helps with my detective work! The origins of the tutu - Madame Rosati and The Parisian Ballet: One name that immediately springs to mind is Madame Rosati, a celebrated dancer in 19th-century Paris, and known as "The Rose of the Opera" - This gifted performer made quite an impression on my early travels, you might find it in the " Ballet Stories " section on our website www.pink-tutu.com
Anyway I will save her story for a later time - what really piqued my interest as an inquisitive blogger who loves the romance of the dance is how Madame Rosati’s tutu transformed the stage with a sense of elegance and freedom! It is interesting to learn how her style was so distinctive, because at the end of the 1800’s her performances at the Palais Garnier were so highly respected, and what’s more she danced in such elaborate, beautifully detailed tutus, I will be posting the detailed stories of Rosati in an upcoming issue .
Madame Rosati really seems to have been an icon of the times, and was even referred to by some as "The Queen of Ballet". In Paris she could do no wrong, as her elegant moves and breathtaking grace made audiences speechless, and now here she is at last featured in a Ballet time Travel post! Just think of her gliding across the stage, I just can’t imagine a more stylish time, and all so beautifully illustrated in the costumes and costumes they wore!
However before I go I also want to include this gem of information I stumbled upon and will really add to my time traveling journey for next time.
This little piece of writing comes from the book " The Parisian Ballet" a must have for every budding ballerina and ballet blogger :
* " The evolution of the tutu went hand in hand with the evolution of Ballet as a genre" - it's like my ballet mantra !
But let’s get down to details shall we , shall we delve deeper in to ballet history together? Now this is one part of the balletic journey we love, it makes me more excited about all my ballet ventures... I can already imagine that the beautiful dancing on this date 10th October 1882 in Paris, was only just a snippet, the era is filled with history just like the amazing outfits from a Victorian era, but with an elegant twist ! Think about all the great names from the past and those beautiful women in those spectacular outfits, it really does make me think how the ballet of yesterday, influenced the ballet we see today - just another wonderful discovery!
Now that's just a taster. And of course you must know that Madame Rosati and this date just have to feature in the “The Pink Tutu Book Of Ballet”! - Just another adventure for your ever growing ballerina blogger Emma. Don’t forget to keep up with all our discoveries at www.pink-tutu.com ! We hope you will join Meg and I next month for our ballet time travel adventures.
Bye, for now. Love, Emma x
