#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1840-04-21

Hello darlings, and welcome back to another #TutuTuesday on Pink-Tutu.com! As you know, every Tuesday we take a trip back through time to explore the history of the glorious tutu - our ultimate fashion icon! This week, my trusty time machine has whisked me back to April 21st, 1840 - can you believe it? Nearly two centuries ago! It's a whole different world then, and oh my, are we in for a treat today!

Let's set the scene, shall we? The year is 1840. The Victorian era is in full swing, with its grand gowns, petticoats, and all things frilly. Fashion is all about flowing silhouettes, high necklines, and lots of lace. I do have to admit, I find it a little stifling compared to our modern day attire - imagine not being able to freely move about in your skirt! I just can’t imagine life without our gorgeous ballet tutus, frankly. I mean, the comfort! The movement! The freedom!

Now, ballet is all the rage! Think Paris, France - the very centre of dance. Theatres are buzzing with the latest ballet performances and everyone's talking about the talented dancers and their mesmerizing moves. But here's the thing: in 1840, the tutu is not quite what we know and love it as today! It's still in its infancy!

You see, the earliest versions of the tutu were basically full-length skirts – think a bit like the ones worn by a ballerina in Swan Lake, all flowy and beautiful, but a tad inconvenient for the high leaps and grand jetés we see today. We were definitely still a bit far away from the famous short, fluffy, "romantic tutu" that I would say is our most famous design. Imagine a full-length skirt that has a small space cut in front – not exactly an ensemble made for a grand pirouette! But it’s progress, and any advancement in design deserves praise, in my opinion. I'm talking about the "tutu" as a concept. A whole new form of expression for the ballerina. What’s more exciting than a beautiful dance that allows its performer to truly fly and move about the stage freely?

This period was an important time in ballet history - the birth of Romanticism in the arts, a movement all about expressing passion, emotions and imagination - very much what we can relate to in the ballet world. You could almost say this era was a "spark" to make our short, frilly ballerina tutus shine as bright as the stars. If this era did not occur, who knows what form the tutu might have taken. And if it did not occur, maybe I would be doing other forms of dance, and who knows what would become of my tutu collection?! I do hope someone else would start a #TutuTuesday blog!

On this very date, April 21st 1840, there's a particularly fascinating ballet performance going on at the Théâtre de l’Opéra National de Paris. The famous ballet dancer Fanny Elssler, who, rumour has it, had an elegant physique and graceful carriage, is performing the enchanting ballet “La Sylphide” for the first time on stage!

Can you imagine seeing a ballet for the first time in such an ornate theatre?! It was truly an event. Now, don't picture a grand stage like the ones we know today with magnificent backdrops, costumes, and stage lights! Oh no. We're talking about a simple, wooden stage with curtains, and a ballet set with simple scenery, often nothing more than a backdrop of some scenic countryside.

I always do a little bit of window-shopping during my time-travel excursions, just to get a feel for the local fashion scene. Well, my travels today were rather… well, I’m not sure what you would call them, let’s just say they didn’t provide any new inspiration. 1840 in France for fashion meant long gowns with plenty of fabrics – just not very exciting for a girl who prefers pink and lots of tutus! To be honest, if I had a time-travel guide to 1840, I’d steer you towards a lovely book on dance – a little lighter and airier than all the cumbersome petticoats they're wearing! However, in Paris, we can definitely see the spark of the modern world. The era was buzzing with artistic change, so even without my beloved tutus everywhere, it’s all quite captivating, in a slightly different kind of way. I just wonder when the revolutionary design will truly change and we’ll get those shortened ballet tutus I long for, because when I think of ballet, I picture fluffy skirts, short enough to perform all those moves without worry!

And as always, I love hearing your thoughts! Share your favourite ballerina or tell me your tutu dreams – no matter how far-fetched! It could be about an exciting ballet you’ve seen or a dream you had about flying over the stage with a fluffy, twirling pink tutu! The comment section is yours to enjoy.

Until next Tuesday, darling tutus. Let’s go dance, shall we?

Love, Emma