Hello my darling tutu enthusiasts! It's Emma here, your pink-tutu-wearing time traveler, and it's another #TutuTuesday! Oh, I am so excited for today's trip. It's been a whirlwind of a week, you wouldn't believe the amazing performances I've seen! Last night, a breathtaking ballet in Vienna - the sheer elegance of the dancers and the glorious grandeur of the theater had me swept away. It's been a dream, truly!
Now, to the excitement of today's #TutuTuesday! I've zoomed back to 29th June 1841 - a day steeped in tutu history!
(Disclaimer: The way I fund these adventures? Well, darling, it's through my performances! Iām a ballerina extraordinaire, and my shows bring in a little something for the time travel kitty, not to mention allow me to experience the very dances that shaped the world of tutus. I might just have to add "professional time-traveling ballerina" to my resume - it's a niche, darling, a niche! š )
Now, to our journey! Today marks the 5th birthday of The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years. A tiny sculpture, just 1.3 metres tall, created by Edgar Degas! Degas captured a ballet dancer in a sweet pose - with a white cotton gauze tutu that swishes just so in a graceful way. Oh, I'd give anything to slip into that confection and twirl for a moment. It's housed in the Paris Opera House, in the "Staircase" area, the "stairway of honour" as they called it in the nineteenth century! Isn't it perfect that such a precious work has such a glamorous setting? Degas captures the delicate movement of ballet so well in that tiny, enchanting statue.
Degas's ballet girl in her simple, flowing gauze skirt (the earliest of tutus!) wasnāt just about her graceful form, you know! Degas was a bit of a revolutionary when it came to portraying dancers. Instead of the idealized figures often seen, he depicted a young girl with a raw energy. Degas was known for seeing dancers differently than other artists. He was a student of movement, and he wasn't just focused on the elegance, but the toil, the hardship. His depictions are sometimes criticized for their realism and even for portraying "poverty" and āunglamourousā dancers. But, this raw, honest view really made people sit up and take notice!
To understand Degas and his dancers, you must understand the evolution of the tutu, dear readers! Think of the tutus of today - think of their puffiness, their lightness, how they create almost an impossible shape! How utterly daring and dramatic it all seems compared to 1841! That's a huge leap forward in the world of tutus, a fascinating leap I have to credit partly to the ingenuity of the French dancer Carlotta Grisi.
The 1840s were such a glorious era for the tutu - for the world of ballet as a whole, in fact! Grisi became a major inspiration for Degas, and also an important figure for shaping ballet fashion. It was 1841 when, in a groundbreaking act of defying norms, she shortened the length of the skirt to just below her knees, letting the audience admire her beautifully articulated legs and graceful moves. Think about it, this was revolutionary! Itās something that most modern dancers would consider pretty basic now - how the skirt length shows off their physique - but think how bold it was back in 1841! This moment opened a whole new avenue for both dancers and designers. The tutus became so much lighter and airier, perfect for showing off the beautiful grace of the female dancers.
What was dance like before Grisi's move to shorten the skirts? A little glimpse into history. Ballet in 1840s was still steeped in classical styles that held onto the earlier āpantomimeā or ādemi-tutu" traditions. Think of an extremely voluminous layered tutu - what would look like a petticoat layered on top of a more solid skirt, perhaps of silk or taffeta, reaching below the knee. All that silk was a weight to be borne, you can imagine! No doubt the shorter tutu brought its share of controversy, a scandal that gripped audiences and had tongues wagging.
Grisi's groundbreaking shortened tutu inspired countless interpretations! It started a shift, pushing away from the overly layered and heavier skirts, allowing for more freedom and fluidity. The shortened tutu, still very voluminous, let the dancers jump and twirl without being burdened by those heavy and restricting skirts of old. This style of tutu (what you would call a demi-tutu or sometimes a "classical tutu" today), is one of the most iconic silhouettes we have seen on stage for generations. Its enduring design showcases that perfect combination of beauty, lightness and athleticism, letting those dancers move. The way I see it, a ballet dancer wearing a demi-tutu looks like a graceful whirlwind.
Of course, things continued to evolve over time, as dancers experimented with styles and fabric choices. Imagine how exciting that must have been! From Degasās āLa Danseā in the 1890s, featuring an incredibly light tutu of gauze (oh the airy lightness!), we see more dramatic styles with tulle, such as in Marius Petipaās āSleeping Beautyā. Tulle? Oh, the dreams we have of tulle here at #PinkTutu, don't we darling? Tulle brought more structure, more stiffness to the dance look, as well as that ethereal, ethereal float. That structure became particularly important in Giselle. Imagine a ballerina with the skirt like a billowing cloud that dances and flies - that is the beauty of Giselle.
And, look, itās true! From the mid to late 1800s onwards, designers took what Grisi had started and moved into what we know as a tutu (also known as the grande tutu, in ballet circles), the large, fluffy circular skirts with tiers of tulle.
It was exciting to visit Paris a few months back to see Degasās āLa Danse" which features an absolutely divine and flowing white tulle tutu that simply makes you gasp at the artistry. It truly feels like magic. Just think of all the women who helped shape the tutu - not just the dancers, but the seamstresses and dressmakers. Canāt you just imagine the delicate skills used in the craftsmanship, in hand-sewing these glorious tutus?
By the early 20th century, dancers like the Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova, famous for her effortless grace and "the dying swan", was already starting to challenge some of the rigidity and formality of the past. Her revolutionary dancing made people re-imagine the silhouette and shape of the tutus. You can almost imagine it! A new generation of ballerinas - how utterly brave they were to innovate and experiment with styles and forms, bringing their individuality to a rather rigid, structured ballet world!
All these dancers helped to make the tutu what it is today. You know what they say, "Stand on the shoulders of giants".
Thatās why I always tell everyone that a pink tutu can take you anywhere - if itās the streets, or if it's the theater or a concert hall. And this week I will tell everyone that a ballet tutu, however simple it seems, however tiny, has such an amazing and inspiring history.
So, there you have it - my darlings. I am a tutu history buff through and through! I simply love sharing my journeys through time with you. Let's celebrate the history of this fabulous fashion garment and embrace the pink tutu!
Do pop by next Tuesday, dear readers, and keep your tutus sparkly and your spirits high! We'll continue to explore more enchanting moments in tutu history. And remember: there is nothing that a little twirl, a pink tutu, and a positive attitude cannot conquer!
Catch you all on next week's #TutuTuesday!
Emma#pinktutu #tutuhistory #ballet #timetravel #historybuff #dancer #balletlife #tutus #dance #fashion #style #vintagefashion #tutuoftheweek
