Hello darlings, and welcome back to Pink-Tutu.com! It’s your favourite pink-tutu-clad time-traveller Emma here, and it's the 10th of October, 1888! Can you believe it? We're travelling through time in a magnificent, glittering, pink carriage drawn by my most trusty companion - Magic Meg. You know, my gorgeous pink shire horse with her white mane and tail, those divine golden hooves and oh, the glitter!
This month's adventures bring us to a grand occasion! I'm all aglow with anticipation, as today's the day the Paris Opéra Ballet's premiere of "La Cigale" (The Cricket) by Léo Delibes takes place! How delightful is that? Can you imagine, dear readers, a full-length ballet inspired by a Jean de la Fontaine fable! Oh, how delightful! We must try and slip into the Opera house this evening. I wonder if they're still allowing tutus for those daring enough to attend!
I always find these early ballet history moments captivating. 1888 marked such a wonderful shift towards more expressionist dance - we're moving beyond strict ballets d’action and entering a golden age of romantic, imaginative ballets like this. Imagine a ballerina dancing on pointe as a delicate cricket with all those little flicks and fluttery leaps! Gasp. So perfectly charming, don't you think?
I must dash, darlings! Time is of the essence when it comes to travel through the decades! I've already scouted out the finest milliners in Paris (don't you just love those grand Parisian boutiques?!) I hope to find a delightful, feminine, and of course, pink, ribbon-adorned straw boater that I can wear with a voluminous, shimmering, pink crinoline to match the opera house’s grand grandeur. You see, a true ballerina should always be adorned and I adore the Victorian period. I may even snatch a lovely hand fan from a Parisian milliner! One can never have too many frills, can one?!
Before I bid you adieu for now, let’s take a peek into the fascinating ballet world of October 1888:
Across the pond in New York, the famed *Metropolitan Opera House opened its doors! It was a significant milestone, paving the way for opulent theatre performances with ballets taking pride of place.* The Metropolitan Opera quickly became one of the most prestigious theatre spaces in America and I'm hoping to travel to New York sometime in the future for a lovely American ballet adventure!
And speaking of milestones, imagine how wonderful it would have been to watch the young Isadora Duncan first grace a stage in 1888. This pioneering dancer was destined to revolutionize ballet through her emotive, fluid style, with its rejection of classical conventions and embracing of movement, feeling and emotions. I love her free, expressive style, though she would later develop an unyielding aversion to tutus.
"But how, Emma darling, how do you travel through time?!", I hear you cry. Well, as you know, my passion is for all things ballet. To fund these fascinating expeditions, I perform around the globe. A night here, a gala there, and voila, enough shillings to power Magic Meg and my delightful travels! I think you would love to see how we can pack in all these amazing adventures in one tiny rucksack on Meg’s back! A true ballerina, my dears, can pack a featherlight handbag like nobody’s business.
I also perform to fill my ballet time-travelling rucksack with relics from the past! Do you think we can find some delicate silk ribbons for ballet shoes? I wonder if I can find the original program for La Cigale...
Don't worry darlings, I’ll write to you again soon with a grand post about my Parisian opera escapades, brimming with ballet adventures, and of course, with pink and tutus galore!
Until next month, be sure to stay fabulously pink and embrace the spirit of ballet!
Emma xx
