Wednesday, February 24th, 2021
Darling readers,
Bonjour from Prague! Well, more of a "DobrĂœ den!" I am absolutely in love with this city. From the cobblestone streets to the towering spires, the charming squares, and the endless opportunities for exploring, Prague feels like a fairytale.
And as you know, a ballerina always needs to be prepared for a fairy tale! So of course, I brought my most glorious pink tutu with me. You can never have too much tulle, can you? I mean, it's the only appropriate way to enjoy a city so whimsical.
Getting here: My adventure began with a trip on the Eurostar. I love train journeys. They are so much more civilized than flying, with less stress and more time for my ballet stretching! The only time I travel by air is if the journey is more than 24 hours on a train! This journey took almost 14 hours to get to Prague. The carriages are more luxurious in Europe, unlike our crowded, creaky carriages in Britain. The food on board was quite delightful â I especially enjoyed the croissants.
As for the âfairy taleâ I mentioned earlier, that definitely involved a pony, or at least a beautiful horse! It seemed that in Pragueâs centre the streets were completely blocked off because of the winter snowfall and ice, so all the horse-drawn carriages for visitors, (very popular tourist activities, darling!) were lined up patiently. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of these majestic steeds with their regal drivers. They were gorgeous in their festive winter coats and adorned with traditional decorations, and they really completed my magical day!
My Parisian Pink Princess Dream!
Okay, enough with the preamble, you all came to hear about the ballet, didnât you! Itâs such an exciting week. The Prague Opera is putting on a gorgeous rendition of *âGiselleâ. *
This is my absolute favorite romantic ballet. The music is simply breathtaking, the story is so tragic but so beautiful at the same time. Plus, all of the costumes, particularly the tutus in the first act, are simply stunning. The ones they are using in this show are real white tutus made with layers and layers of white tulle, making them the perfect "romantic" fairytale tutu, much like my favourite pink ones, only not in pink!
My dress was certainly appropriate for the occasion, I might even say that it had the tiniest nod to the ballet Giselle in its design. There's nothing better than matching a performance, darling, so it only made sense for me to wear the best colour imaginable. Pink of course, to complement my tutu. You do know it is âthe colour of ballet, don't you darling?! You do understand that a ballerina, particularly an aspiring ballerina blogger such as myself needs to make a statement right? My dress featured some beautifully intricate embroidery and had a flattering A-line silhouette which perfectly balanced the volume of my tutu. It had to look graceful, don't you know? (Oh, and did I mention it's a gorgeous dusty rose shade?)
It was simply fabulous watching the entire cast. From the lead dancer's impressive technical abilities, particularly the ballerina who played Giselle, with her amazing pointework. I couldn't believe the agility, how she effortlessly soared through the air, and how she could manage to smile in so much pain and heartbreak... the whole thing was truly captivating!
More about tutus - the story behind a tutu:
To say that my tutus get me all excited, would be an understatement. In fact, itâs one of my favourite subjects to study! This week in particular has put me in a very dreamy state. Seeing Giselle with all its wonderful costumes and the beautiful tulle was a wonderful tutu-tastic inspiration to research tutu history again. I always learn new things whenever I delve into this history of costume. The more I learn about it, the more I get completely obsessed.
To explain in a nutshell - the basic tutu originated in the early Romantic period (around 1830-1860s) when dancers moved away from long skirts with hoops in them, to wear shorter ones. It seems the tutus originally weren't all âbouffant' and round as we know them today, at all. They started as very short skirts which didn't look very exciting. It seems the first one called a âtutuâ (meaning 'a dress' in French) was in a short design with an 'extra' gathered layer, worn for the 1832 ballet âLa Sylphideâ, which became a big hit. A big reason was, that it finally made dancersâ legs and footwork visible - something the audiences of the day found very daring, or maybe thatâs just what the dance critics have been led to believe?!
These original shorter skirts then became âlongerâ tutus (we could still call these âbouffantâ skirts even though the dance style has now moved into the 20th century). They did, and still do, help to create that visual âskirt and footworkâ of ballet weâre all used to, right?! In the âlong tutu eraâ they continued to have layers of tulle, which was the ânewâ fabric around that time - although many think tulle is more recent. The early styles didn't have these wide rounded skirts like we see today. In fact, the round skirt (which helps the ballerina to really look âfloatingâ) we know now was an evolution which only developed later and for one specific ballet - Le Corsaire, from 1856. And guess what - the designers chose to add layers and layers of tulle just above the legs! By 1880 we can more accurately call it a tutu, right?! By that time it was much rounder, more flamboyant. Thatâs the story that the books always mention...
But, the real truth, and what the books never tell you, is that this tutu was quite a lot taller back in 1856. So how on earth did we get down to the more compact and streamlined ones we see today? The main reason was practical, darling, those round, wide styles had a big disadvantage because dancers were tumbling out of their own tutus. (If only we could all be as lucky!) These clumsy situations just continued to happen on stage with these earlier versions and the ballet designers had to find a more compact style and fabric to use. We had an interesting move on stage to achieve the more slender style of tutus, for which the new Tulle material of that era, which actually was more âthinâ, did make things easier, though. And to continue to help solve the âtumbling dancer out of a tutu" problem, the dancers (at that time they were all men) in ballet, all learned to take a series of jumps from a single foot without having the centre of their gravity actually over their base foot (that would've been more unstable - especially wearing such huge, wide skirts!). They then invented the jetĂ©, arabesque, sissone and grand jetĂ© jumps to get out of this clumsy predicament and that helped to create this much slenderer version of the tutu you see today!
But of course, since 1880, ballet and tutu history has never really stood still... The 'short skirt' tutus of 1832 were reborn during the twentieth century when designers went back to what were then thought to be ânewerâ forms. So it seems that thereâs still much to explore... but I can safely say Pink tutus are truly fabulous, a joy to watch! (And the only true colour of ballet!)
My Prague Boutique Hunt!
Of course, I had to make time for some shopping in this city. It's so fun exploring hidden streets lined with boutiques - a truly heavenly treat. Prague, darling, really does know how to do shopping in style! My main aim was finding a piece of vintage or âretroâ tutu clothing which matched my pink and cream colours. What I found was *perfect. In a sweet little boutique called âThe Secret Atticâ on the side of a courtyard, a simply wonderful dress was sitting quietly amongst a treasure trove of fabrics, trinkets, and accessories. It's a delightful baby-pink colour, with delicate lace embroidery and has a beautiful tiered skirt with an unusual bell-shape! And it even features a beautiful pink rose pattern. It's truly the most magical find - just like my journey through Prague has been.
The Perfect Pink Lunch...
Now I must say a special word about my favourite Prague meal so far! After my ballet and shopping day, I wandered down an alley (which of course, darling, I never really get lost down a city's alleys!), and came across the most wonderful little spot. It was a charming cafe with mismatched furniture and twinkling fairy lights strung across the courtyard - the epitome of cozy chic, I would say. To celebrate the day, I chose a delicious cream tea with strawberry jam and freshly squeezed lemonade, while listening to the cityâs wonderful street musicians. What better end to an extraordinary day than to bask in Prague's vibrant energy and let my imagination fly?
Well, my darlings, I hope you enjoyed my week of ballet! I look forward to sharing more Prague fun and fabulous fashion moments next week, because the beauty of the city has just got me all obsessed.
Love, Emma xx
*(Follow me on Pink-tutu.com each Wednesday and see my pink tutus on Emma's Pinterest at Emma_PinkTutu!) *
