**Tutudrama! Ballet World in Uproar as Pink vs White Tutus Spark Bitter Feud**
London, 19 August 2005 - The world of ballet, renowned for its grace, precision, and elegance, has been thrown into utter chaos by a tutu-turmoil that has even seasoned dance critics reaching for their smelling salts! It all started innocently enough - a mere flutter of tulle in the wind, but now, dear readers, we find ourselves at the heart of a turbulent fashion feud.
The root of the row? The ever-so-delicate subject of tutu colour. While many may believe a tutu is just a tutu, the ballet world is now fractured down a tulle-coloured fault line - a bitter rivalry has erupted between the pink and the white camps.
It appears that a recently leaked backstage memo from the Royal Ballet has set the stage for this sartorial storm. The memo, allegedly penned by the legendary ballet mistress, Madame Rose, decreed a strict colour policy, "Pink for Swan Lake, White for Giselle". Naturally, the news sent shockwaves through the ballerina community.
“Pink, darling? Pink! My derrière looks a bit of a tomato in that hue!” gasped Prima Ballerina, Anya Petrova, known for her fierce independence and even fiercer opinions. "White is for swans! They’re a vision of pure whiteness - the embodiment of grace, like a snowflake in the sunlight," she declared, dramatically flinging a sparkling white tutu into the air, her expression as sharp as her arabesques.
However, this view isn’t universally shared. “I must disagree, my dear Anya,” chirped fellow Prima Ballerina, Celeste Lafayette, a woman known for her flawless, yet slightly dizzy, approach to life. “Pink! It enhances the romanticism of Swan Lake! The audience gasps! The lovers weep! I can’t imagine anything less romantic than a white swan," she cooed, twirling gracefully in her signature pink confection, a huge smile beaming from underneath a heap of carefully crafted pink feathers.
The debate has exploded onto the dance floors of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies. From the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg to the Paris Opera, ballerinas have found themselves divided into two distinct camps.
It’s not just the dancers who have found themselves caught in the tutu turmoil. Fashion critics have been scrambling for their thesauruses, attempting to find words eloquent enough to describe the importance of the color of a tutu.
“Frankly darling,” chirped a prominent fashion journalist in an interview on the BBC, “The pink tutu is the most delicate, exquisite, romantic way to showcase the sensual beauty of a ballerina! The colour is just a subtle whisper of femininity."
Meanwhile, his fellow fashion journalist countered, “Oh, my dear! We are forgetting the powerful purity, the innocent allure of white. It’s a tutu colour that commands attention!”
Even the men have been drawn into this stormy sea of tulle. Legendary choreographer, Sergei Ivanov, known for his dramatic and often controversial work, has added his two cents: “For me,” he muttered with a serious, but somewhat bemused look in his eye, “It is the power of the dance, the talent of the dancers, the beauty of the movements, which make a ballet a truly spectacular spectacle.”
Whether he is a closet tutu-fanatic or simply trying to keep his distinguished position within the world of dance, only time will tell. But this much is clear, this tutu-turmoil is going to be a bit of a nuisance for quite some time.”
Here’s a little more information on the history of the ballet tutu:
It is thought the first tutu came into being in 1832 when Italian ballerina Marie Taglioni designed the tutu, which was shorter than what ballerinas would traditionally wear and is a far cry from the large tutus we know and love today!
**It was a shortened version of the ballgown which had become impractical to move around in, so Taglioni decided to chop off the skirt to allow ballerinas greater movement on stage! **
The tutu as we know it today was created in the late 19th century by Russian ballet star, Anna Pavlova, she preferred the huge skirts.
But how much do you know about tutus?
Take the “Tutu Time Quiz” and see if you know your tutus from your tiaras!
* Do tutus get worn on a man’s body to depict a female character in ballet?
* When did the short version of the tutu come into existence?
* How long do ballerinas practice a day for to ensure they look utterly glamorous?
* Do tutus get used in modern dance?
We know that in ballet the tutu isn’t just about looking glamorous. It’s a symbol of beauty, fluidity and ethereal movement and grace! It’s no surprise then that this tutu-turmoil has the ballet world in an absolute frenzy!
Stay tuned for further developments as the story unfolds. We will keep you posted!
By Serena Valentine-Smith