Hello darlings! It’s Emma here, your #TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu Historian, ready to whisk you away to the fabulous world of dance and fashion!
This week I’m taking you back to February 1905! I’ve travelled in style, of course, hopping onto a delightful express train all the way from my cosy cottage in Derbyshire to Paris, the heart of chic and elegance. Oh my, let me tell you, the fashion here is absolutely divine! And don’t even get me started on the gorgeous theatres! Paris is practically bursting with artistic energy, and I am absolutely positively smitten!
You know how much I adore a good story and some gorgeous garments, so for #TutuTuesday, I’ve decided to tell you a bit about the lovely, layered tulle that makes the world of ballet dance.
I was so thrilled to see a magnificent production of ‘La Fille Mal Gardée’ at the Opéra Garnier, the most stunningly decorated theatre, darling! I practically gasped as I entered the building. Such a beautiful structure - just a perfect backdrop to a night of graceful ballerinas, leaping beautifully! I’d have given anything to take a spin on that stage myself.
So what’s this all about, the tutu you ask? The story of this exquisite creation really takes us on a journey from the 1800s to the present day! Now, you’re going to think this is awfully dramatic, but think of it as the ultimate costume evolution - the tutu is like the grand old lady of dancewear! I swear, its history is more compelling than any novel.
Firstly, picture it. You are on stage in front of a vast audience. Your goal? To capture their hearts and their imaginations. You’ve practiced and rehearsed. You know each pose and step, the perfect leaps and elegant arm movements. But for a ballerina, something else matters enormously, darling: the dress. Your clothing makes the biggest difference to how the audience will perceive you - they’re watching your movement, but also your silhouette!
Right up to the early 1800s, dancers performed in dresses with full skirts – rather impractical for jumping and spinning, don’t you think? In the 1830s the beautiful Marie Taglioni (think ballet history icon!) introduced the Romantic tutu! Think longer skirt, reaching to the ankle with light, delicate layers. It was such a beautiful move for dancers as it freed up their movement - they were practically dancing on air! I’m sure you all imagine a cloud of gossamer fabric when you picture ballet, and I imagine this is where the dream started.
As ballet became more dramatic and athletic - as more ambitious moves came about, the dress had to evolve. The ‘tutu’ in the style we see today is much shorter and much more intricate, featuring several layers of netting and tulle, that’s a type of lightweight net. So elegant!
These beautiful ‘tutues’ come in various forms; one is the classical or ‘traditional’ tutu - think The Nutcracker, Giselle, or Swan Lake! That dramatic design - such a great showstopper for dancers on the stage! In these ballets, the tutu really represents grace, flowing lines and classic dance in all its beauty! It also makes dancers look even taller, creating a wonderfully balanced image, something to appreciate in a world of stunning movement.
We can’t talk about the history of the ‘tutu’ without the legendary Marie Taglioni - who revolutionised the ballet dress. As a ballerina herself she recognised what it meant for a dancer’s costume to reflect not just elegance and form but freedom! I adore the idea that such a beautiful dress allowed dancers to make the greatest artistic statements on stage! I mean, how fantastic is that?
Right here, in this time, Parisian dressmakers, are coming up with the most magnificent variations on the ‘tutu’! It really seems like there’s no end to the creative variations, all designed for a different story, a different emotion, a different move! The imagination behind such art really excites me!
It is all well and good to dance and twirl but without an outfit worthy of a grand ball, well, darling, I do think it simply wouldn’t do!
As I travel back in time I often wonder where we will be next, what fashion delights await. Right now I’m in the heart of a wonderful time of artistry and creativity and as the most dedicated ballerina blogger ever, well, I just have to say, let’s embrace the power of the tutu to tell our stories, dance, leap and whirl our way through life, and have a good time doing it!
Don’t forget to visit me every Tuesday here on the #PinkTutu blog to see more of the history of ballet tutus! Until next week darling - see you at the theatre!
Don't forget, darling, I want to see you rocking a pink tutu! Send me pictures of you in your most beautiful, twirly pink tutus.
Stay pink,
Emma
www.pink-tutu.com
