Greetings, my darling tutu enthusiasts! Welcome back to another thrilling escapade through the wonderful world of tutus, for it is, you guessed it, Tutu Tuesday!
As your very own Pink Tutu Time Traveler, I'm back with a most delightful blog post, whisking us away on a romantic train journey to 1846, the year that gave birth to, well, not quite the tutus we know and adore today, but definitely a tantalizing glimpse of them!
I'm currently nestled in my favourite compartment on the Orient Express, all plush velvet seats and the comforting clatter of the wheels. My trusty travel trunk sits beside me, brimming with an array of silk, tulle, and ribbons for this month's venture. This time, however, my pink tutu is tucked away, as the fashion of the 1840s, my dears, is rather more…shall we say, encasing than the breezy lightness we enjoy nowadays!
Now, let me whisk you back to a time where dancers wore long skirts. Yes, my friends, it is a little hard to imagine, but the tutus of today were very much a twinkle in fashion’s eye back then. You see, these lovely ladies, called ballerinas (though, don’t let the term mislead you - many men performed then too!) , wore quite full gowns, which would often become something like tutus towards the end of the dance when they were whipped around in a whirlwind of silk.
Why did they change? Why did the dance of the ballerina get more dynamic? Oh, dear friends, it is all thanks to Marie Taglioni, a dancing goddess of the time. She became the very symbol of graceful beauty on stage, her lightness and poise an absolute marvel. And what did this marvelous creature decide to do? Why, she chopped off her skirt! She shortened it! A daring and quite revolutionary thing to do at the time. Think about it, dear readers! The audacity of such a move! It set the stage, literally and metaphorically, for future ballet innovations!
Imagine the scene at the Paris Opera on February 24th, 1846 - my arrival date for this trip! Think of the whispers, the gasps, and maybe even a few fainting fits! Because yes, on that very date, dear readers, La Sylphide, with the oh-so-charming Marie Taglioni as the lead, debuted, introducing the world to a new way to dance. It's rather poetic, isn't it? And quite lovely, if you ask me!
Sadly, the full skirts that were popular at the time didn’t instantly disappear. Ballet tutus took their time to evolve, a little bit like the way my love of tutus evolved over the years - it started with a childhood dream and grew into something well, tutu-ingly amazing! But, even with all those flowing layers, you could see, on this date, a peek into the future - the fluttering glimpse of what was to come. A dance, light and graceful, free of constrictions, with ballerinas no longer hidden under a sea of fabric.
So, my dearest Tutu Twirlers, keep that date - February 24th, 1846 - locked in your tutu-loving hearts. That's the day the first flutter of the modern tutu, in its glorious simplicity and grace, graced the world! And with a bit of a pink sprinkle of time travel magic from your lovely friend here, we get to be part of it all.
Keep on twirling, my dears, until next time, when I shall delve into the story of tutus once again! Don’t forget to subscribe to www.pink-tutu.com and share your own ballet moments!
Your devoted Tutu Time Traveler, Emma. xx
P.S. And, dear readers, what shall we do? We can’t just stop with this intriguing bit of tutu history! Let us, in our tutu-tastic style, commemorate the debut of La Sylphide with our very own dance! Now, gather round my dears! Time to twirl, sway and flutter in the magic of a new era of dance, inspired by this very date. We shall all have our own moment, every bit as exciting as the premiere of this ballet! Let's paint the world pink, one twirling tutu at a time!
