#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1883-03-20

Hello my darling tutu-loving friends! It’s Emma here, your resident pink tutu enthusiast, back for another #TutuTuesday. We’re diving into the dreamy world of ballet tutus once again. And today we’re waltzing all the way back to March 20th, 1883!

This time travel adventure found me sipping tea and munching on delectable French fancies at the grandest theatre in Paris. Can you imagine the excitement of being in Paris for the ballet in 1883? Imagine! The excitement, the energy, the sheer romance!

My heart simply flutters thinking about it! I love travelling through time – I have a confession – it's my dream life. I mean, how amazing is it to get to explore the world of ballet in different eras, and with all these exquisite clothes – heaven! But to afford this extravagant lifestyle, darling, I simply have to work! And, thankfully, my dancing is good enough to make a living – enough, at least, to pay my train fares and my seamstress. It's amazing, really, just thinking about how much we ballet dancers contribute to the world... it really is a work of art.

It’s almost a shame I have to break my time-travel to write this blog for you! But darling, this week's #TutuTuesday had to focus on a real-life event in history. Now, today's blog isn’t all about tutus, though I'm sure we'll work those in somehow, you know I can’t not bring the tutus into it, ha! Today's focus is all about a fantastic Parisian lady who's been the darling of the stage for years, one of the most iconic and graceful dancers in the whole world – Emma Livry! I love her style, the tutus she dances in are all perfection! She has this air about her - a mix of elegant grace and cheeky boldness - you know, that air you can only get when you're dancing your heart out!

So darling, I’m off to give you the rundown on a great ballerina - and who knows, maybe she'll inspire you to don a pink tutu and whirl yourself around in a similar fashion, no?

The beautiful Emma Livry - wasn’t she just stunning? With such lovely movement, a light, graceful style. She loved being on the stage, radiating the stage, taking centre stage and showing off what ballet was really all about – it wasn't just some rigid old style that didn't show anything - she truly lived it. She wasn't just in ballet, she was ballet - did you see her spin on pointe? Utterly captivating!

What did you say, darling? Was she one of the “ballet stars” back in her day? Of course! I should have said that from the start! Why, she was renowned throughout all of Europe! My goodness, she travelled everywhere for her performances! In this day and age, there are ballerinas with world tours – like, just think about it. Isn’t that fabulous?

Just imagine yourself, sitting in the grand stands, and then, as if out of thin air – you see a figure appearing on the stage - so beautiful - and then oh they dance. Her performance wasn't about showing off - though we did admire every movement! But it was about story telling - she truly was a story on stage. Now, she wasn't just about showing off fancy moves and turns, which many ballet stars tend to focus on. This is all about the art of ballet and how a ballerina truly understands it!

Do you think she had that perfect tutu for the stage? Oh, it would have been a delight! If you ever had a chance to watch her on stage, you had to take note of how the tutu moved on her! Now there’s the right kind of ballet history for a Tutu Tuesday, no?

Emma Livry made a lasting impact, as many stars did at the time – you see, it was about more than just dancing - it was about being the best that you could be and using the ballet to convey that to the world. It's something that every dancer understands and every performer lives by - we all have to give our all - not for applause, darling, though the applause is nice, you can’t deny that! No, it's for the art, for ballet! It's for those watching - for everyone watching. Every ballerina lives for that!

The other wonderfully inspiring thing is that Emma was the most humble ballerina – so it’s great that she never let her fame change her and she was, just like me, a true believer in the art of dance. If you'd told anyone on the street that you’d like to see Emma Livry’s next performance – they would be in awe. The same would go for your favourite dancer, darling!

Now, we're off to Paris on the 20th of March, darling - the home of great Parisian ballets. It would be a sin to talk about ballet in France and not give it the respect that it truly deserves! And, just as much, it’s all about the music that’s performed alongside the ballets! What would they be without each other? Oh don’t even think about it! That’s why this blog had to go back in time - to talk about an absolute legend - a time full of Parisian theatre - a time to revel in the joy and beauty of music, the movement and grace of dancers, the wonderful costumes they would be adorned in! It's a truly beautiful thing and I think it's one of the things we can always look back to and be inspired by, darling! What are you looking at? Are you blushing, darling? Just imagine!

Do you know what’s so exciting, darling? This date – the 20th of March 1883, saw a performance by the very legendary Jules Perrot. He was one of the absolute best! How incredible would it be to be able to see a performance of his?! My dear, Jules Perrot – oh, that is an inspiration for us all – he would be one of the great masters of dance!

His ballets were filled with beautiful movement, his ballets always had so much passion about them, always a delightful balance of strength and agility, every performance full of his soul - and then you add the stunning costuming on the performers! All in one performance! What more could a ballet fan ask for, darling! I’d have loved to be in the crowd for that performance - and you would have had to have seen me whirl into my own little dance in the seats - to feel that electricity in the air. Ahhh, just thinking about it gives me a shiver down my spine - what joy and joy!

Now, if you're ever feeling blue darling, just picture that, imagine Jules Perrot's ballets with beautiful costumes. Imagine how he'd look. There’s your lift to make the whole world go pink!

And you, darling, should really find a way to visit France! Or you could go see an amazing ballet at home - even better if it’s near you and the cost of train fares are minimal. Imagine dancing with other enthusiasts! So what are you waiting for, darling? Take the leap into the ballet world, take your bow on a stage, even just the local school stage, and then start your ballet-life adventures!

Well darling, the time for my blog has flown by. It was wonderful chatting about ballet with you, just as it always is. This was a whirlwind of an event, isn’t it! Let me know if you’ve ever seen any live ballet - I'd love to hear what it was like, darling!

But, in the meantime, you can always find a way to get involved. So, make it a tutu wonderful day! Now if you’ll excuse me, darling, it’s time for me to book my next time travel trip and get dressed in something utterly stunning to watch a performance on the French stage. I'm thrilled to do some time-travel-shopping first, though – I hear there are amazing shops for ballet wear in this era. I’ll let you know if I can find some stunning pink tutus – because I don’t want any of us to go a single day without the joy of wearing them! Bye for now! And have a beautiful week. *Bisous! *