Bonjour mes amis!
Well, here I am, in the beautiful, enchanting city of Prague, wearing my favourite, custom-made hot pink tutu - you can't miss it! (And for those of you who haven't heard my mission statement - get everybody wearing pink tutus! Pink is fabulous!). I just adore Prague - I mean, come on, you have to love this beautiful city! Cobbled streets, ancient architecture, that spectacular Charles Bridge, it’s like something from a fairytale! This trip, however, was quite a journey!
You see, this little pink ballerina started her adventure in the rolling hills of Derbyshire, England, then rode the Eurostar all the way to Paris and hopped on the train to Prague! I confess, it felt quite adventurous and romantic riding a train across Europe! It made me feel like I was in a movie, like I’d hopped into a vintage film and was starring as the whimsical ballet-loving girl, flitting through the European countryside!
This adventure all started last year. I saw an advertisement for a ballet performance in Prague in a French magazine while shopping in the Tuileries Garden in Paris! I must admit I'd been a bit obsessed with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ever since I read a fascinating historical novel, The Tutus, about a troupe of ballerinas travelling from Paris to St. Petersburg in the 1800s! This was my chance to actually live my own historical drama, to make a real-life story out of it, as it were!
My ballet career took off when I danced the role of Sugar Plum Fairy at Derbyshire Dance School’s production of The Nutcracker. Since then I’ve been getting quite a name for myself and it allowed me to save enough to fund my little adventure to Prague! After all, it’s so important for us girls to explore our dreams and live our passions, whatever they are! So with all that extra money I could even splash out on a bit of haute couture – shopping in Paris, obviously!
The ballet I am here to see in Prague is called Giselle. I just love this classic! I love its ethereal beauty, the passion, and the amazing dancing, but of course I love it for another reason. Did you know the Giselle tutu is a unique kind of ballet dress? There’s a different structure - no bodice. And to imagine, there was only a bodice-less Giselle tutu worn in one other performance! Can you believe? I mean, a ballerina with no bodice in the ballet. Just amazing, how modern it was, how revolutionary! And then again I thought I am such a girly girl in a hot pink, tutu-wearing way, I do get drawn to the unique. And to be honest with you, what's not more modern than wearing a bright pink tutu everywhere? It's about expressing oneself and embracing our own unique way of being! And this tutu, the one I'm wearing right now, is so comfy and gorgeous. And I even found this delightful vintage Giselle tutu in a vintage store here! So I will be adding to my collection, it's all about finding vintage pieces and modern pieces that go together well, right?!
My Prague stay will be the beginning of my ballerina diaries adventure across Europe! Yes, it’s just the beginning - Swan Lake in St. Petersburg, Don Quixote in Spain - I have so many amazing, pink tutu adventures coming up, watch this space! The future is definitely pink, and full of dancing.
A little peek into Prague…
The Prague National Theatre, where Giselle is being performed, is absolutely beautiful. It’s right by the river, and it has those fabulous golden sculptures - truly majestic. It's a piece of the architectural legacy of Prague. What a beauty of a place. I absolutely love it. I do wonder about those beautiful women dancing in those wonderful tutus, on stage in that magical setting! I feel just a bit jealous actually, though maybe if I worked a bit harder, practiced really really hard, I might just make it there one day. But now, I’m a big girl! I mean I am 27, for goodness sake!
After the show, my new friend and ballet enthusiast, Amelia (a French lady from the French ballet, a professional, you know! She works with the director of a very large Paris ballet company. She made a bit of a star appearance for a show, in the opera house here, for the summer! But of course we shared a similar passion for pink! Just couldn't leave her in Prague after she introduced me to some delicious local Czech beers – that's one of my other big loves! - the dark ones. That really puts one in the mood for an extravagant romantic evening – and for you see, Amelia has such great connections, because we ended up with two free tickets to see the legendary Bolshoi Ballet. They had a guest performance in Prague, you see - Sleeping Beauty. I am telling you - it doesn’t get more awesome than that, you know, watching the Bolshoi on stage here. I am talking real international stars – it was divine, I was just blown away. I feel very lucky, my friend Amelia really made my week here.
Prague has just got to be the most romantic city in the world. I have tried some great little coffee places, wandered the city by day, sat on a river boat, it’s so pretty! We had some lovely French pastries in that fabulous Parisian cafe - I really do love cafes! But one place, one place truly blew my socks off – there is a shop! The vintage shop has got to be my favourite part about this whole trip! You know those tiny shops packed with clothes and hidden in cobbled alleyways, well this one was bursting with the most gorgeous dresses! So what did this little ballerina buy? Of course - vintage tutus! Now I can create a vintage pink collection and have some real eye-catching outfits! They really were in beautiful condition, absolutely mint, and I felt a great deal of history in my hands!
My Shopping List:
You know how I love shoes - this one’s a must. They're going to be fab for when I'm in Prague next!
Pink ballerina flats - I have these gorgeous ones, just right for those cobbled streets and I just love ballet flats and that beautiful vintage feel they give an outfit. Perfect for dancing around, I find! And they fit in that suitcase so easily, you know, perfect for travelling ballerinas, even if they do sometimes make your feet a little hot when you have been travelling a long time! I am sure my dancing will last much longer in these. I even found some perfect, new-age tutus to match my flats here!
Ballet outfit from Paris - a beautiful, long, flowing cream skirt! There was a small vintage shop near my Paris hotel - tucked down a beautiful cobbled alley, like in a French film! I just love that French style - I would love to move there but for now it’s a bit out of reach! But I love shopping for the most stylish things, in my favourite French shops in Paris! You will find me in my little vintage Parisian ballet clothes!
Now I am off back to Paris - where all that vintage magic came from! I'll catch the train back tonight - a real ballet dancer needs their beauty sleep after all those days of dancing and shopping, you know!
I am feeling a bit homesick already and that Paris French vintage ballet feel, you can’t beat it! But at least my wardrobe will be feeling fab after those purchases and I have some stories to tell. This pink tutu ballerina will be keeping you up-to-date, next stop the glamourous capital! I’ll tell you all about it, so watch this space.
That's it for this week, stay beautiful! Until next week from my next adventures… and be sure to keep spreading the love of pink tutus for your nearest and dearest! I think this little ballet bunny just needs to make sure the world embraces it and the glamour! Because when everyone's dancing, you just know the world will be a happier place! And everyone will have fun!
Bisous!
P.S. Don't forget to follow my latest on my site, www.pink-tutu.com and join me on my magical journey! I will be updating with a weekly blog.
*I do love my blog, don't you? *
