Dearest Tutu-Lovers!
Oh, hello there! It's Emma here, your pinkest and most twirly blogger, and I'm so excited to welcome you back to another edition of #TutuTuesday.
Today, I'm taking a trip back in time to May 26th, 1835! My oh my, what a fascinating year for fashion, particularly for the ladies. Picture this:
Imagine a time when romanticism ruled the art world. Long, flowing lines and delicate details dominated fashion. But what's a tutu, you ask? It wouldn't be quite what you see in a modern ballet class.
The real story of the tutu started to unfold much later. So, what's a ballerina like me doing with a date from way back then? It's all about exploring the journey of this dance staple. Believe me, the way dancers dressed in the 1830s wouldn't have even dreamt of a tutu!
Today's blog will delve into a time where elegance was all the rage, where silk was a must-have fabric for every lady who wished to be noticed, where gowns with delicate embroidery were a true work of art.
Now, imagine yourself taking a seat in a grand opera house during 1835. Think of those fabulous chandeliers! Can't you smell the rich scent of perfumed gowns?
Let's focus on London, shall we?
That's where we are going for our #TutuTuesday. In London in 1835, dancing had already made a name for itself, especially at places like the Royal Opera House, just off Covent Garden. It's where The Marriage of Figaro premiered by Wolfgang Mozart and was later adapted by Giovanni Paisiello. Mozart was a genius of his time and this particular play, it's got a whole load of romance! That was what they loved.
There is so much to love about that time, all those beautiful layers and graceful movements! If you ever see The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House, imagine the fabulous outfits these performers wear! Just a little more embellishment than your modern dance student!
As for this week, just this week, I've done something a bit different. I was on the train coming here (the train! Such luxury! It wasn't like the train we know, though, oh no. We can get a very grand train today but that one, well, it didn't look quite the same).
I popped on a real treat to see the The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House here in London! (I have the cutest pink tutu that just screams "Let's Dance!" for this very occasion, and believe me, it is very "loud"!)
While the tutu wouldn't exist just yet in 1835, let's explore the amazing outfits of those performers in 19th Century Ballet! What did ballerinas wear when they first set foot on a stage to share a love for dance? We are going to look at ballet, its origins and fashion during this century!
Before I show you the delightful ballerina fashion in London, 1835, we must know our dance terms! Ballet has so many wonderful words which we need to know. What is en pointe? Where is it from and how old is en pointe? The ballet terminology goes back much longer than the tutu we love to wear! So much for it's use in ballet performance goes back much further. It is part of ballet from 17th century but you wouldn't wear the tutu then!
You're going to see all kinds of ballet looks, and they are so much fun to describe. Let's dive into the vocabulary of dance. Let's go for a quick word exploration on the evolution of ballet terminology.
(I will also talk about The Grand jeté later on this #TutuTuesday blog post! )
There is nothing quite like taking a trip back through history. This time, it's a trip through The Vocabulary of Ballet and where it originated, in France, 17th Century. Wow! Think about it, we have had 100's of years to learn how to dress, how to perform and what words we should say for each graceful movement! I adore looking at dance as much as wearing these fantastic ballet costumes.
How many words did you know that originated from ballet or describe ballet performance? There are plenty to mention today. "Pas de bourrĂ©e" or "Pas de basque". Both originate in French. They translate to âbourree stepâ and "Basque step". These words from ballet are from the French and Spanish, they even have origins in music too. Now, can you guess how "chassĂ©" is derived?
Yep, *from the French for âto chase,â because that's exactly what those *flying steps in chassĂ© make the performer look like they are doing! You guessed it all right!* Now for more!
How about a chassé to " Balancé, a slow swinging movement which is actually in a three step pattern!" How did ballet movements and its terminology take shape? It takes time for a new step to become accepted by everyone in dance.
Oh, yes, and of course 'piquĂ©', a term in French that means âto prick.â The piquĂ© looks like a pointed toe that is coming inward from the second position in a classical ballet movement. I do love how we have French words in dance! They all sound so elegant!
You won't find this vocabulary in the late 1800s ( we don't have our modern ballet tutus and it looks so much more elaborate than a basic dance outfit for today's dancers in our studios!) , you have to take a trip even further back, back, way back to the early French ballet courts! They certainly have amazingly different ballet outfits! So much embroidery and long dresses! You've got to love it, it is like a work of art in its own right! You're looking at dance and an artwork! What a brilliant combo and this is what we will talk about today!
Itâs fascinating to consider that in 1835, we would have seen so many beautiful variations in the dress, as you can still* see today with all the modern ballets that have emerged since 1835! The art of performance in dance has never stopped! Think of the variation in design! It really depends on what type of ballets we are performing and then how we choose to show off our dancing to the public! We can go from ballet performance for a small audience, a recital or right in front of royalty, just like in the 18th Century!
To keep everyone entertained, a ballet dancer's clothes have had to change over the years, haven't they? A lot of history to explore for these beautiful performers. And that is what this blog post is about. We can see that fashion influences dance! They really do! The fashion you can see in our costumes of today and the performance fashion in the past are completely intertwined.
That is our ballet history for #TutuTuesday. Today's #TutuTuesday blog, let's think about the history of ballet clothing from the past. Now that you've got an appreciation for those fancy dance terms we've looked at, I'm going to tell you what's happened and show you! And no, it isn't a tutu just yet. The 18th Century saw more long, beautifully decorated gowns.
You won't see ballet performers on pointe or in tutus! What an image to consider, a *ballerina in a dress that was actually a part of the gown!
You won't find ballet tights in 1835 either. They wouldn't know tights back then! No tight or thin tights here! Just lovely, thick stockings for keeping our legs warm inside gorgeous gowns. You just wouldn't be caught dead with your legs showing.
Think 1835 in London. This was not the dance we have now. A big dress, so big you need a *man to follow you around. How does the dance change and how did fashion evolve for our ballet performances. It took so long to get to a tutu we all love today! Let's explore some of those outfits together,
We have an abundance of dance history to get through today so don't be afraid of a *little more about dance in 1835, even before the tutu was ever considered for dance performance! You must know that for a dancer, our clothing needs to support what we do in terms of movement, how the shape of the dress supports how we move! Fashion and Dance go hand in hand.
As a true dance lover, I was curious to learn about the ballet dress during those first centuries. Now for those special garments from the past for London's Royal Ballet and Theatre stages where dancers have shown off their skills, so, here is a peek at 1835 style and what to expect to see in the dance shows during this century. Let's take a peek at a glimpse from that first century! Ready for more exciting vocabulary? Let's explore!
Our ballerina dancers ( back in 1835), they wear beautiful dresses. These dresses were made for ballet. There were dresses *'Ă la polonaise'. * (The 'Ă la polonaise' means âin the style of a woman from Poland, a Polish dress. That kind of dress had a bodice (that's where you find *buttons or lacing on *the top of your bodice). They wear lots of long flowing fabric, too. They often included some type of frills, which really are beautiful! Then a really beautiful, lovely skirt made in a layered skirt, with several layers. We can't forget the essential ribbons on top, tied with a big bow around their neck and long sleeves, too, to help the flowing movements for our beautiful performers who take their dance on stage in London. Fashion influences the way you perform so the long skirt and layers really help when it comes to swirling. Think ballet dance moves and we're good to go! They wear lots of jewels, that means pearls, gold and silver chains on those beautiful dancers of the 1830s in London!
And, just to be fancy, they always wear a beautiful, delicate lace to keep everything looking its very best in front of the audience! And don't forget, the dresses would be made in beautiful colors: silk, velvet, satin and more,! What a combination to add all that together and be ready to dance. So many shades to consider, too: greens, red, white and navy, light blue with pink for our beautiful ladies who are *performing. Imagine a world with a color pallet for every day of the week, in gorgeous flowing gowns!
You really have to see for yourself! A real dancing treat* when you see the beautiful ballerinas twirling and doing pirouettes. I can just imagine how dazzling it must have looked and what a treat for our eyes and to hear that fantastic music, too!
This week we are travelling, not just to London, we've come all the way to * Paris, The Place de l'OpĂ©ra in 1835, as I am also sharing another glimpse of dance over in Paris from that time, too! *What better place to get inspired by Parisian dance and fashion* from a couple of centuries ago, *what a spectacle that must *have been and itâs certainly one I am really excited to share with you all, too! I bet they even had tea shops, what would we have had?
And just when you thought it couldn't get any more interesting about the outfits worn during this era (1835) in Paris, think again! You are in for more fantastic ballet terms *as we look at dance history. We're going to explore and talk about "la polonaise, the "chassĂ©, the *âentrechatâ! How about some âpirouetteâ* or how about a *brilliant* â Ă©chappĂ©" ? Oh, we can't leave out "sissonne" (there are two different kinds!), fantastic, a âglissade" a â tour âand the amazing, â jetĂ©â! So many things for a dance lover to discover. It's no surprise the art of ballet goes back centuries! Yes, it really does! Dance History and Fashion in dance both go hand-in-hand.
Oh my! Did you ever think dance terms could be so much fun? Just as the history of dance has progressed into our modern dance performance with our modern tutus we can see in every studio. Our dancing clothing *has evolved.
Letâs look at some amazing historical dance vocabulary. Our Parisian ballerina performers in 1835 have to know the right movements when they go to a big party! For all those important duchesses, how else could we have* a proper French Court Ball without our elegant ballerinas and that brilliant ballet terminology? And oh yes, there are lots of them, like " *assemblĂ©", * itâs such an incredible dance to watch and see these ballerinas take part in such a fantastic French Court Ballet, *Paris style. Now I will *leave you with some really inspiring French ballet movements. Imagine youâre there in Paris in 1835. And here are the most beautiful and essential vocabulary *for ballet *of that period in Paris:
"assemblé, the ballet movement when the dancer hops onto one foot then *glides across the stage." It looks just as magnificent *in the middle of a French Palace as it does in your favorite ballet school today! It shows off those fantastic ballet gowns.
And the second dance movement I'm leaving you with today for you to discover when you visit France, is the " pas de bouree' ". *A very important movement **for those elegant ballerinas back in 1835.
The âpas de bouree' is a ballet movement where the dancer slides their foot out, brings it *in *and then does the same again, only on the other leg! The ballerinas really show off those beautiful gowns and they even *had a âla polonaise! You're in a Palace. *And you love it!
Think 'The Marriage of Figaro'. A beautiful French musical piece of art with those 'Ă la polonaise* skirts for the beautiful ballerinas. Such a special moment in Parisian history in 1835!
I hope you enjoy this blog! We will be on our travels to a whole new ballet destination for next weekâs *#TutuTuesday. So, come on over next week to *our blog and Iâll be happy to share all our *fabulous, *pink ballet adventures with you here at www.pink-tutu.com,
Your Pinkest Tutu Wearing Ballerina, Emma
PS. * Did I mention I am heading *back to *Derbyshire, *England? That was my starting place for time travel after I danced in London. But let me tell you it is quite a journey, just going from London to my home in Derbyshire. What a difference those couple of centuries make, too!
I am very glad to be here in Derbyshire. You never know what* *kind *of adventure *is in store for you. I think we have *a *very exciting journey * ahead of us* this #TutuTuesday!
