Greetings, my fellow Tutu-istas! It’s your favourite pink tutu-clad time traveller, Emma, here, bringing you another fabulous #TutuTuesday installment of my Ballet Tutu History blog.
This week we’re taking a trip back in time, all the way to the 30th of December 1834! Oh, the magic of time travel, I say. I do wish we had flying cars, too – they’d certainly make life easier for this ballet-mad time-hopping adventurer. 😉
Now, you may be thinking: Emma, surely tutus didn't exist back in 1834?
You’d be surprised! The roots of the modern tutu, that dazzling symbol of ballerinas all around the world, actually sprouted way back then! Now, we all know, or at least I hope we do, that the ballet was already in its heydey in 1834! After all, it was founded in the lovely Renaissance era, and with all that artistic ferment, we’d naturally be expecting some fashion innovations as well.
But we mustn’t be thinking in terms of tutus, per se, but of precursors. These pre-tutu dance wear had been a crucial part of the ballerinas' aesthetic - they were long and flouncy and quite literally, swishy as ballerinas took their first flights and glides across the stage!
There wasn't just one “first” pre-tutu but instead an evolution. We see evidence of ballerinas wearing long, voluminous skirts even earlier than 1834, with those layers becoming less and less restrictive, to accommodate the exciting developments in the techniques of ballet.
But imagine, a world without the short, airy tutu, the one we all associate with the ballerina and the graceful way they pirouette and dance with abandon. It truly was an exciting period of development! Think of the elegance of the Romantics! These beautiful dances, their emotional and poetic qualities, were perfectly served by this flowing and flexible pre-tutu dress. It gave rise to a form of femininity as ballet itself did! And all this way before 1834, when those early, swirling, silken, long skirt silhouettes, which were actually precursors to our famous tutus today!
Well, of course, this is Tutu Tuesday, and while the real star of the show for the fashion-obsessed, myself included, is that iconic tutus of today! But this historical journey to the origins is fun to look back at. After all, before we could enjoy a tutu that shows off the legs with an elegant, beautiful simplicity that really makes the graceful elegance of the ballet stand out so beautifully. The modern tutu is truly the symbol of ballet - one of the world's great forms of artistic expression.
But I've gotten ahead of myself!
For this journey into fashion, I had to leave my beloved Derbyshire, and go, well, where else but Paris! It just seems so natural. In Paris in the 1830s, and for centuries to come, ballet reigned supreme, its stars as much stars of the Parisian high society as the famous stage actors. In Paris the evolution of that little skirt which transformed itself into the modern day tutu was underway. Imagine a beautiful theatre, gilded and glorious. The stage alight, the curtains slowly rising, revealing a dancer wearing layers and layers of silk, in that traditional ball gown shape, but, what’s this?! These flowing silks are already being cut higher than previous dancers would have dreamt of! The dancing became a little more ‘open’ to show off those elegant legs, so necessary for ballet. The dancers, still beautiful and ethereal, started to create new movement, more fluid, but at that point, I dare say the ballet world would be amazed at how quickly, and yet how slowly this all occurred. That's how ballet became the art it is today! I love that blend of change and traditions in the dancing arts!
Oh my goodness! So much to ponder on the 30th December, 1834. I’m feeling more inspired than ever about those lovely dancers of long ago and the tutus which would take shape to be their artistic clothes - what joy, such amazing talent, and beauty! We truly must never underestimate those ballet dancers. So, that’s my report for today, folks! I’m off to pack my time-traveling suitcase and my favourite pink tutu to my next journey through history – I think it might be Vienna next week. Stay tuned, my dears!
Don't forget to browse the *pink-tutu.com * website for more fabulously fashionable blogs about tutus and the world of ballet. And if you're interested in purchasing a vintage tutu or other fabulous dancewear items, please visit my Etsy shop. You'll find everything a true Tutu-ista needs, from head to toe!
See you next week! And remember - never be afraid to wear pink! 😉💖
Emma x
