#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1905-04-04

Bonjour mes chères amies! It’s Emma here, back with you from your favourite ballet blog, pink-tutu.com! Now, I don’t usually make this a travel blog, but this week, I’m so excited to be taking you with me to Paris! I adore France - the language, the food, the fashion! But, for me, the most amazing thing about Paris is that it is absolutely teeming with ballet!

It’s hard to imagine, I know, that the tutu – that most delightful garment, in all its pink-hued glory – wasn't always around! It actually took a little time to become the symbol of the ballet we love today. In fact, I’m going back a whole century today to a rather important date – April 4th, 1905.

Now, why is that important, you ask? Well, my lovelies, this was the date that Vaslav Nijinsky – perhaps the greatest male dancer the world has ever known – debuted as the “Golden Slave” in Le Pavillon d'Armide. He became an instant sensation in that beautiful, romantic costume! Now, it wasn’t a proper tutu in the sense we think of it today. You know, those glorious frills all the way round. He was sporting what they called a "roman tunic" - a shorter skirt – just a glimpse of the shorter tutu, maybe a hint of things to come. It’s exciting to know this moment is just around the corner!

And let's not forget the costumes of the lovely women in the ballet - with their puffed sleeves, elegant collars and full skirts, all beautifully embroidered with pearls and sequins. What a glorious and dramatic combination! It must have been simply mesmerizing to witness these costumes in their opulent detail.

Now, you're probably wondering how I’ve gotten here! I told you, I like to travel back in time, you know. And with these old train journeys, the smell of steam and coal and the rattle and rumble, and my pink tutu catching the eye of everyone on the train - it makes for such an exciting journey! Plus, who doesn’t love a vintage, romantic travel story? And it is such an easy way to go back to Paris to catch all those great old ballets. And it certainly comes in handy as an excuse to do lots of fashion shopping - Oh! And I can’t resist picking up the local papers! Those wonderfully bold headlines and tiny typefonts. There is nothing quite like a newspaper from another era! I will, of course, have to scan some of them and add them to my personal archive later this week, which, of course, I’ll be sure to share with you all on the site later!

So, anyway, the Golden Slave – I’m pretty sure the man wore a pair of little ballet slippers. There are photos around but unfortunately, I had a mishap on the train, and lost my old Kodak camera with all the photographs of me with the lovely lady on the platform. Sigh! Anyway, back to Paris! The crowds here are crazy! There’s a queue as far as I can see, waiting to see Nijinsky! I hear his next performance is already sold out! How utterly frustrating - even in 1905, it seems the demand for a good show is universal! Luckily, for me, I am a time traveler - no queue for this ballerina!

Oh! Talking of ballets - did you know there's been such a huge movement of dancers to Russia. There’s the world famous Bolshoi ballet - how amazing is it to think these beautiful ballet dancers are all the rage over there! The most glamorous stars – the best fashion - and I simply adore all those Russian outfits, you know, all those exquisite velvets and furs. I’ve already made an entry on that on the pink-tutu.com website (I just couldn’t resist!), just a little reminder of my personal favourite style icons, my absolute ultimate ballerina muses. Do check it out if you’ve got the time - that’s www.pink-tutu.com. You’ll find a lovely gallery in my personal ballet archive!

And, of course, a fabulous story behind my name – just for you! You see, when I was a tiny girl in Derbyshire – just six, my mum took me to a show at our local theatre. The theatre had a new set designed with bright lights and wonderful costumes. This wasn’t your normal type of dress – this one was frilly and long and with an impossibly perfect fluffy circle, it reminded me of the beautiful meringue that Mum makes! ( I actually can’t quite resist, my mouth starts watering!) But back to the show – It was magic! Everything was about to change forever! The stage lights illuminated a long pink-fluffy dress, so light and magical. The dancer spun so beautifully that even Mum smiled (don’t tell her but I saw a tear!), and Mum told me it was a “tutu,” the special garment for ballet dancers! I knew then I was going to spend my life dancing. I spent my time looking in the mirror twirling my own tulle skirt – in the garden, even in the local shops and that's when I knew I was born to be a dancer and I decided my own tutu would be the colour of Mum’s perfect meringues – the color of perfection itself - a lovely pink, you know – because “pink is just the perfect color,” said my very chic Parisian friend – her words – “because “pink is perfect! You see it everywhere! I would wear a pink tutu every day and I thought: how fantastic would it be if everyone was dancing around in pink tutus?” I felt my dreams coming true. So, when I had enough saved, I invested all my cash in this blog - well, what could be better, right? That’s how pink-tutu.com was born. And, now, I’m sharing this love with you. I’ve always loved wearing a pink tutu! My mum often tells me my favorite expression is "let's all wear a pink tutu" when I was little, you see, and what is the point of life unless it's filled with pink tutus? Now, there’s a goal in life for all you ladies, if you fancy some adventure!

And, you’re right, why should you even confine tutus to dance? I mean, I even wear one now when I’m working on the blog in my room, so why not let them flow into daily life? I even try to fit in an afternoon ballet class in between writing this blog – you know how hard I’m trying to get into the Bolshoi! My own personal tutus help with my posture. Just another good reason to go pink and frilly and even get those beautiful dance moves out on the street too – oh, the fun! I would encourage anyone to join me in wearing their own fabulous and glorious, ballet-inspired tutus and, of course, that means, PINK. Oh, this new train to Paris. Now, let’s take that tutu for a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries, shall we?

You are going to see what an absolutely fabulous time I've been having – my Parisian ballet adventure! I’ve seen shows, eaten croissants in little cafes and even danced the cancan (but kept my tutu intact!) – just think! I’ve been to the Palais Garnier, a veritable masterpiece in itself - I’ve actually been allowed to walk right behind the stage to see the performers as they change – simply breathtaking. I actually spoke to some lovely dancers, dressed from head-to-toe in beautiful, hand-made costumes. We had some giggles - they were actually very impressed when I explained that I have a whole blog devoted to ballet! And don’t forget my lovelies, we must remember why the tutu came about in the first place - it was all about beauty, movement, drama and, most importantly, allowing a woman’s form to be highlighted by a whirl of soft silk - how simply enchanting, I know!

The show was beautiful. I don't even know if the tutus looked pink or purple under the theatre lights. They were both! Everything in Paris is always bigger and better – and I love every second! But we'll talk about that next week in Tutu Tuesday, shall we? Because this trip is really inspiring and we have a huge amount to cover. Now, I simply must be going – I'm off to meet a local ballerina I’ve found here – you see she wants to have a pink tutu with some matching pink sparkly boots and of course, the latest dance trends of course! You wouldn’t believe what they’re up to. Oh! So much to tell!

Until then, darling tutus, let's dance on. I hope you all enjoyed this Parisien excursion. Have a great week, my darlings, and, don’t forget, keep on wearing your tutus! And if you’re not yet wearing them - come on! Now's your time! We’ve already done an amazing article on the best ways to look chic in a tutu, so there is no excuse!

See you next week on Tutu Tuesday, on www.pink-tutu.com. I’m counting the minutes!

XOXO

Emma