Bonjour mes amis! It's Emma here, your friendly neighbourhood pink-tutu enthusiast, and today on #TutuTuesday we're travelling back to the fabulous era of 1839, where tutus are beginning to make their mark in the world of dance!
Before we jump right in, don't forget to visit my favourite pink tutu online boutique [link to website here] â where I find all the gorgeous, glitzy tutus to complete my outfits! And grab your hot cocoa, sit back, and letâs whisk through the ages!
Today, weâre travelling all the way from my little corner of Derbyshire to Paris, darling! Because, honestly, can we really talk about ballet and tutus without a nod to the glorious, romantic city of lights? Oh la la!
Imagine bustling boulevards teeming with fashionable folk in elegant carriages. Imagine theatres alight with shimmering chandeliers and hushed anticipation as the music swells and dancers take to the stage! I'm telling you, dear readers, 1839 is an utterly thrilling time to be a ballet fanatic!
Now, 1839 isnât exactly what youâd call the Golden Age of tutus yet, but things are starting to get pretty exciting. The famous choreographer Jules Perrot, a name that would become a legend in the world of ballet, is already busy whipping up a whirlwind of movement. He is on the precipice of making history with his dazzling dance "La Fille mal GardĂ©e" - the iconic piece where we really start to see the tutu, well, evolve!
Yes, youâre reading that right, my dearest ballet lovers, evolution! In 1839, the âtutuâ wasnât quite the thing of fluffy layers and flowing fabric we know and adore today. No no, the earliest tutus, which are already catching on in Paris, are actually quite different! They are short, yes, but instead of the flowing, billowing skirts that I so dearly adore, they are tighter fitting, resembling the kind of corset-like design that really restricts your movements - perfect for a world where elegance comes above all else!
The inspiration? Well, darling, look no further than our good friends at the court! The royal ladies, dressed in their graceful and somewhat rigid ball gowns, were a great source of inspiration. These first tutus were basically adapted versions of the royal dresses of the day, only much shorter so that dancers could show off those graceful leaps!
Think extremely elegant corsetry, like the kind that stays perfectly still, not so much for that grande jetĂ©, darling! It was still beautiful, don't get me wrong, but imagine if your tutu was giving you a little squeeze as you twirled? Thatâs where the future of the tutu is heading â that graceful freedom that would become its trademark!
Imagine my joy when a little later in the year, Maria Taglioni, one of the worldâs most beloved ballet dancers at the time, took the Parisian stage by storm in La Sylphide. Dressed in a shimmering, wispy creation (imagine a gossamer gown of tulle, perfect for the ethereal fairy creature!), Maria redefined the âballet dressâ. It was like magic! Suddenly, a new image of femininity was born - soft, delicate, and capable of soaring above the stage like a dream! A **dream of airy lightness and elegance, and of course, of that perfect pink, because everyone knows, there's no colour more suited to ballet than the darling pink!
This is the moment in ballet history that sparked a shift. With a tutu of such beautiful simplicity, Taglioni embodied the spirit of Romanticism: romantic and whimsical! It marked the beginning of the rise of what we would eventually call the âromantic tutuâ. It started the revolution, dear readers!
Of course, even then, it was not yet a standard, not yet the tutu that we know and love today, that little piece of ballet heaven! But by this time in 1839, Paris had become the epicentre of ballet, and we all know, that once Paris says oui, everyone else follows!
And, it didn't just stop there! We are still in the infancy of ballet fashion in 1839, so expect even more exciting innovations and trends in the next few decades. Just you wait, it's about to get a lot more fabulous, darlings!
The "Tutu-sensation" was starting to take hold â and, who knows? It just might have all begun here!
Oh, I'm almost forgetting, we canât possibly talk about ballets and 1839 without mentioning the ultimate Ballet star! Fanny Elssler! Imagine a graceful performer, as dazzling on stage as she was off, who could practically move you to tears with her expressiveness!
This phenomenon of a ballerina became one of the biggest stars of her day. If she didnât quite wear a traditional tutu, she still showed us how the dance itself can tell a story, and wow an audience even with less deconstructed, frilly costumes! She's just an incredible reminder of the powerful combination of talent, presence, and, of course, the* ability to tell a story!*
Weâll certainly have lots more to chat about when it comes to Fanny Elssler, my darlings! She truly is an icon in our ballet-tutu-obsessed history, and definitely someone who weâll want to give a spotlight to when the time comes!
You see, dear readers, what is really beautiful about the history of ballet is how it continuously evolves! New performers, new creations, new styles, and of course, new dresses, and even more new tutues to suit the moment!
And what about us? What's our style, darlings? How do we embody our personal tutus? What message does our style and way of dressing tell the world about ourselves? Do we have that effortless grace that makes us stand out?* These are questions worth asking, dear readers, and Iâm so grateful to be taking this exciting journey with you!
Iâd love to hear your thoughts, comments, and *all your questions about todayâs *#TutuTuesday. I love getting your feedback on all my favourite ballet history moments as I keep searching for that perfect pink tutu and share my balletic love with the world! See you next week, my dear friends, and let's all try twirling our way into a **magical, pink tutu filled week!
XOXO, Emma
P.S: Do you *know the ballet dancerâs biggest fear? Getting your tutu caught in the lights, darling!* đ That almost happened to me last week! đ€« Not going to let that stop me from *twirling, though! đ©° âš đ
