Oh, the humanity! Tutus gone wild in the streets of London!
Well, darling, you know what they say, every so often, something simply has to give. And apparently, on this glorious 27th of July, 1996, the "give" in question was a whole wardrobe full of tutus!
Now, you'd think in the heat of a London summer, anything but layers of tulle and silk would be the fashion of the day. But not, apparently, for our ballet-obsessed friends! No, this is the day that tutus went rogue, ditching the stage for the streets, and bringing a whirlwind of pink, white, and quite frankly, some gloriously unexpected colours, to the pavements.
Imagine it, darlings, a veritable ballet of tutus. Pink ones, frilled, voluminous, the classic kind we've all dreamed of dancing in. The whites, elegant and refined, with just the right touch of poof. But hold your horses, for it was a veritable explosion of colours and styles - blue tutus! Green ones! Some even patterned, oh the scandal!
I have to admit, I felt a little twinge of fear for the good ladies who wear these lovely things onstage. After all, we wouldn't want any fabric malfunctions, now would we? You know, a tulle tear at the worst possible moment, a stray eyelash clinging to the silk, a flash of pink where a little less flash was intended!
Thankfully, though, this tutu explosion seems to be more about joyful rebellion than fashion faux pas. Our dancers, brave souls that they are, were spotted, well, everywhere! Outside the Houses of Parliament, pirouetting around Big Ben, performing an impromptu "Swan Lake" in Trafalgar Square, and, dare I say it, even getting caught in a conga line outside the Buckingham Palace. The Queen, a seasoned ballet connoisseur, you know, has probably never seen such a sight, unless she popped down to a matinee in the West End, darling!
This wasn't just about tutus either! You can't mention a ballet without the glorious leotards, and boy, did they bring the drama. More like "drama queens", darling, because let me tell you, these weren't the simple, black, utilitarian things that teachers insist on. These leotards were embellished! Bedazzled! You had them in every colour imaginable - with stripes, polka dots, sparkly patterns, you name it, they had it! All I could think was "I must get myself a sparkly leotard, it is time to make some memories!"
There were, however, a few downsides to the joyous chaos. Some members of the public, those who, you know, prefer their ballet confined to a plush, velvet theatre, looked a little shocked by it all. One particularly gruff gentleman, perhaps not a connoisseur of dance, declared, "A tutus in my street! It's an outrage! My cobblestones! The disrespect!" A bit over the top, wouldn't you say, dear?
Even some of the shop keepers, bless their souls, weren't quite on board. I can't blame them, with all the tulle fluttering in the shop fronts! Still, what's a little flutter of silk when the whole city is dancing? One baker even decorated a cake, an exquisite pink and white one, shaped like a ballerina! Oh, the irony, he had obviously heard of our tutu rebellion and decided to get on board.
And you know what, I say good for them. The city has been lacking a little "sparkle" these days. A little rebellion. And, for the love of everything sparkly and frivolous, this ballet of the streets is a beautiful sight! If we are going to talk about this with our girlfriends tomorrow morning, it's going to be a laugh a minute, a cuppa and a slice of cake in our hands and stories of ballet, tutus and mayhem on the streets of London. Just think about the delightful conversations it will spark! The excitement! Honestly, London's never seen such a day! It is definitely not "boring" as one man wearing a particularly drab, boring tie remarked. What's life without a bit of drama, darlings?
Here are a few things that truly set my heart aflutter, just to add a dash of glamour and gossip to this whirlwind day, darlings!:
- A group of ballerinas actually performing "Swan Lake" in front of the Buckingham Palace. Oh, imagine! A white swan queen dancing outside a Royal residence. Sheer theatrical magic.
- A young lad with a bright yellow tutu tied to a shopping bag, proudly hopping on his way to school, looking every bit a tiny ballet champion.
- A street busker attempting to serenade the "Swan Lake" ballet by the Houses of Parliament with a tin whistle. His rendition was a bit, let's say "spirited", but it did bring a charming bit of disarray to the scene!
- Two old ladies performing a perfect pas de deux in the middle of a crowded market square. Honestly, if you haven't seen the twinkle in a granny's eye when she knows how to do a grand jeté, well, then, you're missing out!
There was a rumour circulating in Covent Garden, a whispered secret, that one particular ballerina even dared to perform an "arabesque" on a very crowded London bus. Oh, the audacious spirit of the city! The rumour mills are buzzing with the potential scandal of this bold ballet move. Perhaps our bus driver took inspiration from a “Swan Lake” matinee performance he’d been to the day before!
And let me tell you, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a tale of a few dancers waltzing in front of Big Ben as the clock struck twelve, marking the very start of their ballet extravaganza! Now, who needs an actual ballet performance when you've got the streets of London at your feet?
Perhaps this day will be remembered not as the day the city's fabric went haywire, but as the day the ballet came to life on London's pavements. It certainly wasn't boring! All I can say, dear reader, is that if the ballerinas ever decide to throw another street party, let us hope it happens on my doorstep. After all, you'll have to forgive me, darlings, for my inner child is just as passionate for pink and white tutus as it was as a little girl.
I hear there might be some more 'tutudeness' tomorrow. And I must be in it! I know a thing or two about being 'swans' and 'geese', so I will join in! The London skies will soon be alive with a kaleidoscope of tulle! After all, darling, one mustn’t let life, even a good ol' Tuesday, become, well, you know, just 'plain'!