Hello darlings! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet, www.pink-tutu.com! It's a glorious #TutuTuesday, and I'm feeling so inspired to delve into the fascinating history of the tutu! You know me, I love a good history lesson. Especially when it involves the delightful world of ballet and all its glittering costumes.
So grab your favourite cuppa and let's take a whirl back in time, all the way to June 22nd, 1886!
This week, we're going to be taking a look at the Parisian ballet world, specifically the iconic Opéra Garnier. It's one of my favourite opera houses, even though it’s more known for its phantom than its tutus these days! 😉 This architectural masterpiece is dripping in opulence and glamour - I swear you can almost feel the swish of a ballerina’s tulle skirts just walking through its halls!
Let’s think back, darling, what could have been happening in the world of ballet at this precise moment? Well, it's a little before the reign of the legendary ballerina, Isadora Duncan, who took ballet in a whole new, and very different direction!
Now, picture it – a flurry of silk and lace, the music swirling around you, and the dancers pirouetting like dreams spun into motion! This was the peak of romantic ballet, you see. You have to understand that 1886 wasn’t just any year - think of it like this – we are a mere whisper from the age of Marie Taglioni, the ballerina who practically invented the tutu as we know it today!
Remember, darlings, we must give her our due. Her famous white tulle creation – it's so romantic! Now, I do adore the fluffier, full-skirted tutu - but that earlier design, it had so much impact, don’t you think? All that romantic, ethereal flowing movement? A ballet fan in 1886 would see a tutu as being all about creating the illusion of lightness and delicacy. And trust me, the designs did make them feel incredibly delicate!
As we look at 1886, think of it as a snapshot in time. This is the period before the arrival of a new wave of revolutionary ballets - pieces that took the world of dance in directions no one expected. Yes, this was a world where choreographers, like Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov were churning out those big, beautiful ballets like The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake… which means even more lavish costumes!
Just imagine the grandeur of The Sleeping Beauty first performed at that moment, in the Opéra Garnier, on a stage decked out in all its Parisian glory! Don't you simply adore the artistry of these old ballets? Just like The Sleeping Beauty, each movement was precise, like the dance of a royal court, all set to an epic symphony of an orchestral score. I can just picture a beautiful ballerina spinning and dancing - and, of course, they had their elaborate tutus! Imagine what a sight those elaborate tutus would have been for a first-time ballet-goer.
You can just see why everyone is in love with the romantic ballets. These works brought ballet to life on the world’s biggest stages! Imagine what it was like to watch a whole troupe of dancers in full tutu regalia. Imagine every woman on the stage in all that magnificent swirling silk! The vision of a Victorian audience witnessing such artistry on stage – oh, how they must have cherished the entire spectacle! It’s all about visual elegance and glamour – pure enchantment, darling!
This is why I say - we must make time travel, and we must see all this incredible performance ourselves! I even saw an incredible performance on my travels this very day - I hopped in the TARDIS excuse me, a rather elegant carriage and headed off to Vienna. It was a lovely performance! Vienna is just divine this time of year. You can almost smell the cake just by standing on the platform. And Vienna is an amazing place to be in late spring for ballet. They are just having their ballet season, too! You can see the most marvelous pieces by famous choreographers on just about every night.
Of course, being in Austria meant lots of lovely places to shop, my favorite thing to do after a wonderful ballet performance. Just picture yourself on the steps of the Opera house after a lovely ballet and you are off to shop and then enjoy an exquisite chocolate cake in a cafe! Such loveliness! This is the kind of travel, I truly enjoy!
And then I was whisked away by a wonderful carriage back to England in time for you, dear readers, to read this week’s #TutuTuesday post! How lucky you are!
As I mentioned, 1886 wasn't all about romantic ballet, darling! There were also developments that started to shake up the established ballet scene - innovations that we might think of as being pretty radical at the time. We had more expressive styles of dance, all the while tutus were getting more flamboyant! Even so, the big romantic works like Swan Lake, they kept ballet alive.
Now darling, that is my idea of a true ballet story. Can you imagine the magic and the excitement, being on the cutting edge of a world on the brink of such change? The tutu itself became a reflection of this changing world, as ballet became more modern, but still so romantic!
And the romantic stories lived on! You can just picture a beautifully costumed ballet dancer spinning on her toes in a beautiful dress and the beautiful ballet stories! It was, truly, a glorious era in the evolution of ballet – a period that paved the way for the dazzling tutus and choreography we know and love today! I'd be lying if I said it hadn't left me yearning for a lovely pink tutu for this #TutuTuesday! What's your favourite period in ballet history, darling? And what's the one tutu you simply cannot live without? Let me know!
Catch you next Tuesday! And don't forget to wear your best pink tutu for my next #TutuTuesday post!
P.S - I would love to hear your favourite ballet story, too. Do write and tell me all about your memories! 💖
