Welcome, my lovely ballet-mad friends, to Pink-Tutu.com! Today is #TutuTuesday and I am so excited to take you back in time on our fabulous journey to 1st October 1850!
It's such fun, going back to the early days of the tutu! As a budding young ballerina from Derbyshire, I've always had a passion for the history of dance, and seeing how ballet has changed over the centuries just makes me absolutely thrilled to wear my tutu - whether on the stage, shopping in Paris, or travelling on the train!
*#979: Where the Fairy's Tailcoat Leads... *
Let me whisk you back to this date in history, the 1st October, 1850. You’ll never guess who’s doing the most spectacular, swirling, fabulous performance – Marie Taglioni! She’s doing her iconic "La Sylphide", one of those landmark roles which really changed everything in ballet. Now this is just fabulous – we can learn so much about tutus from how these early roles developed!
Now Marie was known for wearing some amazing and dramatic tutus, which was something very new in the world of ballet back in those days. She went for full-length tutus, quite a different look from today, where she made a definite statement with her use of chiffon. So light, so floaty and she used that colour, the fabulous pink! It wasn’t just pink though, I do think Marie might just be responsible for the beginning of the amazing variety of colours that you see tutus come in now. She wasn’t afraid to try different colours, to really make a statement and use colour in her dance. That’s a big lesson to take on board if you're performing yourself - make that impact with your tutu!
It wasn’t just about what she wore on the stage, it was the performance, wasn’t it? Imagine the movement of those beautiful light fabrics. Ballet had this huge Romantic period going on. Everything had to be magical and full of emotion. There's this yearning for beauty, the love of fairies and flowers and nature and even dreams… So you've got this wonderful ballet, this incredible choreography and this tutu that's designed to move in this amazing way. And Marie? She's a dream. She’s dancing like a fairy!
In the 1830s and 40s, dancers like Marie were pioneering all sorts of exciting new styles of tutus that were quite different from what you see today. She wore what were called "Romantic Tutues". The designs included these full, voluminous skirts which really captured the feeling of ethereal movements that made her look almost like she was floating across the stage, and you could really get a sense of the dramatic passion of her performances.
Shopping in Paris
You know, all this wonderful history is one reason I am just absolutely mad about travelling. I find so much inspiration for my tutus and for outfits generally in seeing the amazing buildings and costumes and museums from all over the world. And I’ve been to Paris for some incredible fashion inspiration! In those early days, the Paris Opera was where the tutus were seen and you know I’ve always been thrilled by seeing that place. And it was even more exciting in those days – all these artists and poets coming together. The whole place would be brimming with ideas. A creative bubble – you know?
Paris is a very special city for any ballerinas – and I hope one day I will see the Ballet de l'Opera in all its glory in a performance by myself. It is a fantastic opportunity to see different ways the tutu is being used in a show, or perhaps just going shopping to a beautiful ballet store in Paris, with my fellow ballet-lovers!
It would be just the perfect occasion for my most fabulous tutu! Why, I bet a few dancers in 1850 could even be tempted to ditch the romantic length of those traditional skirts for a tutu just above the knee! That really would be revolutionary – I love seeing new things, I just get so thrilled when people use tutus in new ways and come up with new styles!
Train Journeys
I have to admit to loving train travel. There is just so much to see. And you never know who you might meet, who’s heading for a ballet performance. My best ballet experiences always seem to happen on the train. Perhaps because there's nothing quite like being immersed in the magic of ballet. It allows you to take a moment to think, to let your imagination wander and truly appreciate what's unfolding.
And I don’t forget the ballet world itself has this fascinating history – how all these performers were able to tour around the globe with such beautiful costumes and even all the stage equipment, just imagine! I’ve been taking long train trips and seeing incredible views, but that would have taken so much more effort in 1850! It’s hard to imagine the work and commitment it took to produce these early shows!
But back to Paris – in 1850 Paris was really setting the pace for tutus. I mean, just try picturing this. Imagine Marie dancing on a huge stage. It is a stage filled with flowers and an audience packed full of fans wearing the best clothes they can find for this fabulous evening, dressed up and enchanted by a wonderful fairy on stage - that’s got to make you want to wear a tutu too! It’s a lovely sight to see that!
And, while we’re talking about Marie - I would so love to be her! I’ve got such a love for the tutus from this era. The tutus used in performances today are incredibly dramatic in their own way – very modern. The idea that you could dance like Marie – you really would need a very different type of tutu. This one has to be light enough for a ballerina to fly and a little more fitted – just right to give those spins and leaps a very precise, almost delicate, kind of a feel.
You've got that beautiful lightness of a Romantic tutu. It really allowed for this unique freedom of movement for those performers back then, and it still feels amazing and it's so thrilling. In 1850, we are seeing a development of tutu that gives so much power to the ballerina - this was just revolutionary, the real beginning of a beautiful history.
Marie’s “La Sylphide” and her other ballets are full of some wonderfully creative dances – those jumps and turns were truly amazing to see – it’s so different from modern ballet where you might have a very fitted tutu which still has that lightness and the beauty of flow, yet also has that really stunning effect for powerful moves.
Let's Talk Tutus!
Well my lovely ballerina friends, there you have it! There was so much inspiration back in the early days and tutus from the Romantic Period, and the work of Marie Taglioni played a huge part in inspiring some amazing ballet that still inspires today. I love tutus – those fabrics that were used, these early tutus, were truly amazing and so perfect for ballet!
And my gorgeous friends, who loves the colour pink as much as I do?! It just adds a sense of joy. Don't be afraid to experiment and find the styles you love – just as long as it’s a pink tutu, I don’t mind what that style is, as long as you’re confident and have fun dancing.
So much of this inspiration from those early days is coming into modern ballets today - I can see that it’s more and more evident. Let's hope there are plenty of years to come in this fabulous ballet history!
And let’s hope that soon we can have a wonderful performance in a beautiful, fabulous theatre where we can just wear pink tutus for every show. A tutu for every ballerina!
Have a wonderful week and don't forget, don't be afraid to make your own fashion statement with a tutu, even if it’s only for shopping or travelling on the train! Just as long as it's pink!
Now I’m off for a wonderful train journey - let's hope my carriage has lots of space to twirl!
Until next week!
Love Emma x
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