Hello darlings! Emma here, your time-traveling tutu enthusiast, bringing you another dazzling edition of #TutuTuesday from www.pink-tutu.com!
Today we're venturing back to the year 1861. Now, you might be thinking, "Emma, tutus in 1861? Surely those frilly delights hadn't been invented yet!" But hold onto your tiaras, my loves, because this is where the history gets really interesting!
While we don't have the fully-fledged tulle extravaganzas we know and adore today, 1861 was a pivotal year in the evolution of the tutu, so let's hop on the train to the Paris Opera House, darling, because this is where our tale begins.
Remember the Romantic Era of ballet? Oh, the swirling gowns, the dramatic gestures, the dreamy landscapes, all swirling with emotion. But the skirts, darling, were cumbersome. Those layers of fabric were definitely not for leaping! Enter Marie Taglioni, the ultimate ballet goddess, a vision in white (not pink, unfortunately), in the year 1832, during a performance of La Sylphide. Imagine her floating, her lightness, a vision of ethereal grace, wearing a short white skirt of tulle - it was revolutionary! This skirt was lighter, a masterpiece of innovation, the precursor to the tutus we know and love.
But we're not just admiring the past, dear readers. Our story moves forward. Fast forward to January 15th, 1861. The Paris Opera House is abuzz, with excitement palpable in the air, and I was there! Now, I confess, this week I couldn't actually make it back to Paris (travelling costs these days are simply outrageous!), but my mind, darling, was there in the heart of it all.
Now, on this very day, one hundred years ago almost, they premiered Giselle, the ballet. The heroine of Giselle, darling, dances her way into our hearts dressed in white (so far, we haven't seen any pink!) and we can't escape the romantic influence on Giselle. Think ballet, delicate but not quite tutu... think ballet slippers, lovely delicate skirts and ribbons and a truly wonderful piece of choreography! Imagine Giselle spinning and pirouetteing in this stunning white skirt...pure ethereal beauty!
Of course, our story doesn't end here. As time flew forward (and trust me, these Victorian era years really do feel like they last forever - I can't believe it was just a century ago! ), we saw further evolution of the tutu: The development of new fabric and designs and most importantly, the glorious arrival of tulle!
Let's fast forward to the glorious days of the "classical tutu" – think Marie Taglioni with her lovely white short skirt of tulle (remembering to never wear white tutus – we like pink!), Anna Pavlova, the elegant Margot Fonteyn, and my darling, Dame Margot's devoted* student, *Natalia Makarova, all those famous ladies and *so much history! All dancing and performing on the stage in their tutus and each bringing their own unique interpretation of the tutu...oh what joy! Each an elegant ballerina making us smile and feel the magic of dance!
While the romantic era with Giselle was in full bloom and captivating audiences in the mid-1800s, it was only in the early 20th Century, darling, when the tutus truly bloomed, reaching their full potential with new shapes and styles, with dancers using them as a tool to create their own dance, to be able to jump and leap and perform more freely...it’s all very exhilarating and so exciting!
The tutus we have today owe a big thanks to that era – thanks Giselle for being so glamorous and captivating!
Don't you feel like joining in on the #tutuTuesday dance? Tell me all about your favourite tutus or what your favorite ballerinas are like or maybe your favorite ballet? And of course, please feel free to share any photos of your pink tutu! (Don't be afraid to rock a little pink in your daily life!)
Let's dance, darlings!
Until next time, Emma 💖🩰
