Hello darlings! Welcome back to Pink Tutu! I’m your favourite, pink-loving ballerina, Emma, back with another #TutuTuesday installment! Today, we’re time-travelling to December 6th, 1904. Grab a cuppa, snuggle up in your favourite pink sweater, and let’s go for a spin!
This Week's History: 1904 – The Year of the First Full-Length Ballet!
This is post number 3806 on my Pink Tutu journey! Imagine: this is my 3806th week blogging about tutus! If that doesn’t make you feel all giddy and ready to twirl, I don’t know what will!
Well, darling, you are in for a treat this Tuesday. This week we are going right back to 1904, where we get to take a peek into what ballet looked like, oh so long ago.
So, sit back and let me tell you all about it! It's 1904 and I've just hopped off the train at Gare du Nord. My goodness, what a splendid carriage ride! The train journey through France was just gorgeous. Those beautiful French landscapes whizzed past, each countryside view a Monet painting! I swear, the world is a ballet in itself! Just think, it took 64 hours to arrive from my beloved Derbyshire by train! The railways! What a splendid feat of engineering! Such incredible progress! They've been all over the news this year and they've just taken the Paris exhibition by storm.
I must admit, I'm terribly excited. I have just arrived at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. I'm here to catch the opening of the Ballet Russes! Can you believe it?! The year the Ballet Russes premiered - it's just extraordinary! Such a glamorous world and we are lucky enough to be able to be here for it all. Just imagine - it’s only a few years since ballerinas weren’t even able to perform on the main stage at this very theatre. I can't even begin to describe the glamour that I see around me tonight. I feel just like I’ve stepped straight into a dream!
And don’t even get me started on the gowns, darling! It’s all exquisite details, luxurious silks and sparkling diamonds! There is even some wonderful feathered trimming. Can you imagine trying to dance in these beauties? These are certainly no easy pieces! You'd want to be awfully nimble indeed!
For such a special night, I'm sporting a delicious pink tutu, with delicate bows at the neckline. And did you notice, it matches the wallpaper at the hotel! The grand Hotel Crillon! It's exquisite, simply exquisite!
But darling, what about the ballet? What does the Ballet Russes hold for us today?! I'm brimming with excitement!
*It's a bit different to what we see today! * I've had my ears perked! In 1904, this ballet is still making its name. The Russian Ballet is making a real name for itself - there's real buzz about the group, and they have been a great draw in France since arriving on the 19th of May! People are certainly loving it! I love what the Russian dancers have done - this production is spectacular. Imagine! This ballet doesn't have any sets! Instead, they’ve painted gorgeous scenes all over the backdrops. These scenes are amazing! The Russians are creating a whole new form of ballet. Imagine, not even using sets! I just have to admire their daringness. But what is truly shocking about the ballet today? Well, darling, let me tell you! There are actual men dancing! I am not exaggerating; there were at least eight on stage in the show I just witnessed! How perfectly wonderful is this?!
But let's have a think back to the fashion! Let’s be honest, dear readers, it wasn’t the easiest time for tutu fans like myself, back in 1904. Sadly, you really weren’t expected to wear tutus just casually in the street, although perhaps you could have got away with it if you lived in a very arty city! Sadly, the ladies of fashion in those days wore rather large skirts, long, with tight, long sleeves! They even had to wear all those silly stays. They can't be terribly comfortable! Imagine not having any pockets? These must have been some hard times for us ballet lovers!
Even when it comes to fashion for dance itself! Imagine the very early years of tutus! These weren't exactly what we'd expect today! Imagine - ballerinas used to perform in loose, very long and very wide, almost bell shaped, gowns that hid their graceful limbs completely. They only made this major fashion shift to shorter skirts as the dances evolved. Even then, the skirts were only very slightly shorter - only reaching a bit past the knees. Then, about ten years ago came the new era of ballet, with the introduction of tights and the shorter tutu! Can you believe how radical that was, darling? How extraordinary!
The ballerinas wore flat shoes called pointe shoes - so called because their sole was almost pointed. But they're still very simple. They have such basic straps - such a pity that you don't see all of the dancer’s graceful toes and delicate foot shapes ! The pointes themselves aren’t much changed from 200 years ago, so it is just lucky the ballerinas are talented!
I love how dancers from France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Denmark and more are all now coming together and finding out all about each other’s style! They've brought with them, to Paris, this truly exciting blend of dance styles!
But oh dear me, time is running! This trip has been absolutely magical - I really could get lost here! As a tutu aficionado, and time traveler, I'm ready for the next installment of Ballet Tutu History. Next week, I will whisk you back to December 6th, 1910! Until next Tuesday, darling - remember, the world is a stage! Be kind to yourselves and keep on twirling!
Yours always,
Emma
Don't forget to visit www.pink-tutu.com every Tuesday for more #TutuTuesday!*
