Post #1221: 22nd May, 1855 - Bonjour Paris!
Dearest Tutu-lovers,
Bonjour from Paris! Oh, how I love this city, even more so when adorned with a glorious pink tutu! This week, I've been whisked back in time to the 1850s, where tutus are beginning to truly take off.
You might be surprised, but while ballet existed long before the 1850s, the tutu, as we know it, wasn't yet fully in bloom! I’ve been delving into the archives and oh my, there are some fascinating developments happening!
The tutus we wear today owe their existence to the rise of Romantic ballet, a time when airy fairy tales and enchanting stories swept across the stage. In these romantic ballets, ballerinas were the ethereal creatures, the fluttering sprites, who embodied these captivating stories! And how do you make a ballerina look like a dream? A flowing, diaphanous tutu, of course!
Prior to this, ballerinas would have danced in long, cumbersome dresses, which were more suitable for courtly dances than the graceful, swirling movements of the newly popular Romantic ballet. It was Marie Taglioni, a celebrated ballerina and considered the “queen of the tutu,” who first popularized the shorter skirt in 1832! It was groundbreaking for its time!
The iconic, billowing tutu – or “tutu romantique,” as they called it – first made its debut in "La Sylphide,” a Romantic ballet about a mortal man's forbidden love for a woodland sylph. Taglioni wore a revolutionary tutu made of white silk gauze, which created a wispy, airy effect and enabled the audience to marvel at the dancer's graceful movements and the ethereal quality of her character!
However, I have to say that compared to the grand, full-skirted tutus that we know today, those early “tutu romantiques” looked more like a pretty frock than a cloud of chiffon!
By the time I've landed in 1855, though, things are getting seriously exciting! Fashion in Paris was all the rage, and even the world of ballet was catching up! While Taglioni's initial tutus were simple, elegant affairs, fashion had already moved on to much grander styles!
By now, those long, cumbersome gowns were a distant memory! Imagine, my dear Tutu-lovers! No more tripping over long skirts on stage. It must have been such a revelation! Imagine how wonderful it must have been for a ballerina to be free to spin, leap and twirl to their heart's content, feeling like a beautiful bird fluttering through the air!
During the 1850s, these billowing, layered, tulle tutus continued to develop into more complex and extravagant designs! In the same way that Victorian women adopted huge, crinolined gowns for everyday wear, they embraced voluminous tutus for their own reasons! They symbolized everything that was deemed romantic, beautiful, and elegant. What is there not to love about that?
This year, 1855, marks an especially exciting moment. The Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg - oh, imagine, darling! The Imperial Ballet! – is staging a lavish production of “La Fille du Régiment” (The Daughter of the Regiment). I just know that the ballerinas in this performance are going to be absolutely dazzling in their tutus! Can you just imagine them sweeping across the stage in their layered, tulle beauties, while the audience gasp in delight!
My next journey is just around the corner - London, where the Royal Opera House is about to host a series of spectacular ballet performances, featuring the finest dancers in Europe, dressed in the very best tutus. The possibilities, my dear friends, are truly boundless. Just wait until you hear about what happens next...
Until next time, stay twirling and let your tutu be your guide!
Yours in Tutu-Love,
Emma
PS. If you love ballet history and pink tutus as much as I do, make sure to join me every Tuesday on the www.pink-tutu.com website! We'll be traveling back through time, exploring the fascinating history of tutus and uncovering all sorts of fun and exciting facts. #TutuTuesday
Don’t forget to tell your friends and family! Spread the love for tutus!
