Hello dears! It’s me, Emma, and it’s another gloriously pink and twirly Tutu Tuesday! Today, we're venturing back to the late 1800s to uncover the roots of the iconic tutu – a sartorial wonder that makes our hearts flutter like a butterfly in a spring breeze!
Imagine, darlings, a time before leggings and Lycra, when ballet dancers adorned themselves in glorious, billowing skirts that practically swirled with each pirouette. You know what? This is my sort of historical fashion! I could wear those romantic, flowing dresses all day and never get tired of twirling!
Let's hop on a fancy steam train – I am so in love with trains! – and transport ourselves to the enchanting world of Victorian ballet.
Today, on 26th December 1871, it’s Boxing Day. Not only that, I’m currently here at Covent Garden Theatre in London. I can hear the strains of a violin from backstage, I can feel the excitement building, and my oh my, I can feel my tutus, plural, just tingling with joy, oh joy, of dancing!
Right now, the iconic dancer Carlotta Grisi, a name that whispers "ballerina extraordinaire" with each syllable, would be thrilling the audience in a mesmerizing performance of "La Sylphide." Can you imagine? Those delicate steps, those flowing skirts! This would have been such a great show! Why did I choose this date?
It's Boxing Day and Covent Garden! You know this was a fabulous party of theatre and celebration!
Back in 1871, the iconic "tutu" as we know it wasn’t yet quite what it is today. Instead, we saw what ballet aficionados affectionately call "the romantic tutu," which, truth be told, makes me go quite swoon-worthy with its airy, layered, almost ethereal quality. Picture, my dears, a multi-layered skirt with tulle as soft as a dream, swirling and twirling with an elegance that can only be described as 'perfectly dreamy.'
Oh! But wouldn't it be divine, a dreamy fluffy pink ballet skirt!
This romantic era in ballet fashion, if you can imagine such a thing, saw a shift away from the more restrictive "ballet dresses" that were common in earlier periods. Think of the earlier, stiff, impractical (for dancing anyway) gowns with lots of long fabric, with all the extra layers just making it so awkward and difficult to dance in. Imagine dancing the delicate ‘Pas de deux’ in a long and constricting skirt with lots of fabric? No wonder earlier dancers used leaps and jumps more than the fluid dancing we associate with ballet now.
But thank heavens, they changed all that in this 1871 year of beauty and grace!
Remember how in my last post I was telling you all about Marie Taglioni and the romantic era of dance? It's the kind of elegance I try to capture in my own pink-tutu outfit and this romantic era, of ballet and tutus, has a very specific, and wonderful, style that’s been copied and recreated for generations.
This iconic "romantic tutu" became almost synonymous with the beautiful, romantic, and light-footed ballerinas of that era. Why not embrace some of this spirit of delicate beauty in your life today! A ballerina like Carlotta Grisi in an era of dance history where every move, every grace of a step, of a leg raised high and elegant and soft and flowing. The beautiful elegance of movement in the style of dance from this time, and oh those tutus!
Even in the midst of an industrial revolution and societal upheavals, ballet was becoming something really magical! A form of artistic expression for ballerinas of the time who brought their beauty and grace into the forefront, a moment in history when ballet became more than just a mere spectacle - it was art.
That’s it for this week. I am leaving the most exciting event for my next #TutuTuesday post!
Happy twirling, dears! Let me know which historical ballerinas inspire you the most and I look forward to all your comments below!
With love and pink tulle,
Emma
*Pink-Tutu.com *
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The next instalment: ** * Click this link to continue my travel around Ballet Tutu History, for a special blog next week. I’m so excited! We will go even further into the past, the next Tutu Tuesday we go on a voyage to the land of the swan lakes. Get ready to discover the magic that happened way before even this 1871 date – It will be worth the trip back in time, believe me!
I’m a fashion-loving ballet fan!
So let's spread the love of pink tutus together! I am dedicated to getting more people wearing them. If you agree with me, spread the word! And tag your own pink tutu posts with #PinkTutu We’ve got the world to pink up! The more people who love their pink tutus, the more I can travel in time to write more fun and interesting tutu history for you all to enjoy!
You’re never too old to be twirling around in a fabulous tutu, I don't know if there are any time travellers out there – If you're reading this and happen to be a time traveller too, then let’s be friends and have a ballet and pink-tutu themed party!
