Hello, darlings! It's Emma here, your resident tutu enthusiast, coming to you live from...well, I'm actually in Vienna today. Fancy that! Time travel, as you know, does make the most fantastic trips possible. And honestly, Vienna is just the place to be for ballet, isn't it? They're really just embracing the graceful elegance of it all over here!
So, let's jump straight into today's #TutuTuesday, shall we? I've been busy rummaging through the archives (it’s so exciting, being able to physically travel back through time!) and I found something absolutely captivating, my darlings, that sets the stage for all our future twirls!
*January 19th, 1836. It's the day Marie Taglioni - one of the most magnificent dancers to ever grace the stage - took the world by storm with her breathtaking performance in "La Sylphide". It was this ballet, my dears, that would change the landscape of the dance world as we know it. *
"La Sylphide", darling, was the very first romantic ballet ever produced, and Marie was nothing short of an icon in that gorgeous, floaty, dreamy tulle skirt. And you know what? That iconic tulle skirt? That’s what would become the basis for every tutu that has ever danced across a stage ever since.
That performance of La Sylphide didn't just change ballet; it completely transformed what we consider elegant clothing. Suddenly, it wasn't just about tight corsets and fussy petticoats; it was about flowing fabrics and ethereal elegance. Marie became synonymous with "the new romanticism", which swept the globe, with artists like Eugène Delacroix capturing that ethereal spirit in their artwork.
Let's think about that for a moment, my dears. Before Marie Taglioni, ballerinas wore pretty restrictive clothes, full of hoops and layers of petticoats. Just imagine, it must have been quite a struggle for those elegant movements. "La Sylphide" is a pivotal moment because it broke those restrictive clothing norms, allowing ballet dancers the freedom and grace to be their most magnificent selves.
And just how do you achieve that, darling? You ditch the frills, and instead, embrace soft tulle that captures and amplifies the movements of the ballerina! Imagine that floaty fabric billowing as she twirls across the stage. It is a vision of loveliness, my dear. Simply perfection.
So, we can definitely give credit to the incredible Marie for the first step into the fabulous, beautiful world of tutus. After La Sylphide premiered, ballerinas quickly adopted tulle in their dance costumes. Now, every ballerina, regardless of where they dance or what style they dance, has tulle in their performance costumes in one way or another. We’re all rocking some form of tulle to elevate our performance!
And now, darlings, to make sure your #TutuTuesday is complete, you can’t go past a beautiful performance by one of my favourite ballerinas, Darcey Bussell! It's a whirlwind of graceful movements and intricate steps. Watch this video: [link to Darcey Bussell's performance in "La Sylphide"]
Remember, tutus have been the foundation of beautiful ballet dancing since Marie Taglioni made history. We are so fortunate to be in a world with such elegant attire for beautiful movements!
That's all from me today, my loves! Join me next Tuesday for another post! And don’t forget to post pictures of you in your favourite pink tutu for #TutuTuesday - and feel free to let me know if you love this dress as much as I do, or tell me what your favourite tutus are. I'm just so excited to see what your stunning styles look like!
Yours in pink and tulle,
Emma
