A Tutu-tally Hilarious Tale: Ballet Gets a Laugh in the Year of the Ox
It's 1997. The Spice Girls are reigning supreme, the internet is a nascent wonder, and everyone's rocking the crop top and wide-leg trousers. So what does that say about the state of ballet, darlings? Is it as vibrant and on-trend as it should be? Let's just say it's not all Swan Lakes and arabesques, lovelies, because the ballet world is in for a shake-up.
Yes, the year of the ox brings with it a new era of comedy to the hallowed halls of dance, and it all revolves around the beloved tutu. Don't get me wrong, these floaty symbols of grace are utterly divine – those pink and white ones? Dreamy! But just wait till you hear about this: The Tutu Trot.
It started at a little dance school in Birmingham. Apparently, there was a shortage of pointe shoes, a situation the dance mistress simply described as 'tutu dire'! So, they did something brilliant – absolutely ridiculous, but brilliant: they held a competition, The Tutu Trot, for the best performance using ONLY a tutu as a prop.
Imagine: the graceful movements, the pirouettes, the grand jetés... all performed with only a tutu for company! The possibilities for slapstick hilarity were endless.
One young lass – shall we call her Harriet, for a lovely, charmingly old-fashioned touch? - took a tumble, ending up with a tutu tangled around her legs and a look on her face that would make even Dame Judi Dench proud. There was another contestant, a big strapping fellow, who performed a decidedly untraditional routine while wearing a white tutu, giving us all some *serious* 'what on earth' moments, which was only magnified when he ended it by shouting "That's the way I like it! Tutu!” But the absolute pièce de résistance? A team of three dancers who decided to turn their tutu performance into a satirical version of a famous TV ad – you know, those cheesy ones with a chorus of dancers performing choreographed movements to a bouncy pop tune.
This wasn’t a competition that just broke barriers, it was a *tutu*tality brilliant thing! The dance teacher, Miss Penelope, was positively thrilled with the turnout: "The Tutu Trot has done wonders for morale! It's a good laugh, reminds us all that sometimes, the only thing that matters is having a little fun with your dancing."
But what does the Tutu Trot mean for the future of ballet?The most obvious implication is that laughter, and perhaps even absurdity, might become increasingly welcome in ballet – which is exciting, of course! Can you imagine a new Swan Lake, but with hilarious black swan dance sequences with a touch of panto? My dears, what a delight!
Think of the potential: The Nutcracker with the Mouse King dressed in a frilly tutu...a comical 'tutu twist' on a grand pas de deux... a contemporary dance troupe wearing all black...except for a flash of tutu at unexpected moments! Oh, it simply must be explored, darlings!
And who knows, perhaps it’ll even catch on, become a movement (or should we say *tutu-ment*)! Just picture a ballerina prancing about on stage, and then, all of a sudden, a dramatic twirl – not in a fancy, glittering costume, but in a pink or white tutu. Imagine the sheer elegance, the exquisite skill... but, more importantly, the glorious *fun* of it all. That, darling, is something to truly celebrate! And we might even see this kind of tutu-clad comedy on the world’s famous ballet stages one day.
Now, who’s ready to throw a party and have a Tutu Trot dance off? Don’t worry about your technique; all that matters is that you get the laugh out of your fellow tutu enthusiasts.