Greetings from the Pink Tutu Palace, my lovely ballet-loving friends! 🩰💖 It's Tuesday, which means it's time for another dose of Tutu Tuesday – and oh boy, do I have a treat for you today! Buckle up your pointe shoes, darlings, as we embark on a journey to 1920, the year that, well… things just started getting exciting in the world of ballet. And let me tell you, it’s all about the tutus. 😉
I'm Emma, your fellow pink-tutu-clad time traveller, direct from the rolling hills of Derbyshire, England. Now, if you thought tutus were all about long, flowing romanticism, well, buckle your imagination and get ready to say goodbye to those dusty romantic era skirts. This is about innovation. This is about the dawn of a new look for the ballerinas, the beginnings of the ballet tutu as we know it today!
Now, as a time traveler, you’d be amazed how hard it is to find a decent pink tutu while travelling in the past. Especially before this year! You can always find a dress, or a piece of fabric, even lace, but those short skirts are hard to come by. And let's face it, girls, travelling in time means going shopping wherever you are, and let's not forget: a tutu just screams ‘let's have fun and celebrate’!
Now, back to the history…
In 1920, we're deep into the Roaring Twenties - a time for innovation and change, right down to the pointe shoes on the dancers' feet! A few years back, around the time of the Great War, those big, bulky romantic tutu-style skirts got replaced with shorter skirts. Skirts, you heard me! Just simple skirts! Now this sounds a bit dull until you hear about this very special date in history, November 30th 1920 – a momentous date for fashion and, you guessed it, tutus! 🎉 Because, on this very date, Sergei Diaghilev – the ballet impresario – and the genius costume designer, Léon Bakst, debuted something revolutionary with the Russian Ballet's production of Les Noces (The Wedding).
Think dramatic, dark, intense colors! Black, scarlet, white… they gave these traditional ballets a kick! Les Noces marked a massive shift in how we perceived the traditional tutu. I'm talking geometric cuts and shorter skirts with incredible designs in rich colours. Remember, ladies, before this, they were long, swishy romantic things. But in Les Noces, we're seeing the beginnings of what we would call the tutu, even though these designs would soon become more extreme with these revolutionary costumes… think strong lines and sleek movements.
It wasn't just about the length either. Les Noces changed how dancers were presented – think bold makeup, dramatic headdresses and short, fitted costumes. Can you imagine, ladies? A completely different ballet than anything ever before seen! Les Noces set the stage for some real eye-catching looks. And it really made me wish I could go back and witness it myself! ✨
I went to the ballet last night. The music was exquisite, the dance moves magical and I found the most wonderful pink tutu in a little boutique. It had so many tulle layers and frou-frou lace… oh, and the most beautiful little pearls decorating the fabric, just perfect for Tutu Tuesday. But even though I'm so excited by today’s tutu, it’s the future of ballet that really excites me! These new costumes from 1920 were an explosion of exciting shapes and new styles and a perfect blend of dance with fashion. But how do you design these designs without someone to create them?
Which is where we come back to Bakst. This incredible designer changed the game by turning simple materials into a spectacular spectacle. He wasn't the first, but he was the first person to really push the boundaries and create a new tutu-type-thing. He started designing these pieces and pushed the dancers and choreographers to be as dramatic as his designs! Can you imagine getting to dance in those dresses? It had to be quite a different kind of dance! And can you imagine seeing that? I was so thrilled to see that my research showed he designed a special, black tutu for the premiere of this ballet, even though this wasn’t what they wore throughout the rest of the performance.
In the 1920s, it was about simplification. Less fabric, shorter hemlines and those tight bodices, all meant that you could really see the dancer’s movements. It was all about the silhouette and it became a time of innovation. This time is about stronger moves, bolder dancers and shorter tutus – and really changed the game forever, and who doesn’t love a little change once in a while?!
And who says that we need always have white in our tutus?! 😉
And for the record? I am totally in love with my latest tutu. 😜 This one I found has an intricate pink tulle bodice and an iridescent silver tulle skirt with sequins that shine! So I can totally relate to how everyone wanted to wear these shorter skirts everywhere at the time… or maybe I just love the color pink too much?! 😂
I also wanted to note something quite special for #TutuTuesday: There was an enormous increase in ballet attendance. Think all the glamour of the stage, plus these new designs from Bakst… It all helped push ballet into the spotlight, even away from the elegance of those older ballerinas with their traditional long tutus… because I have to say, even if those old, long-skirt-style ballerinas looked incredible and romantic, they couldn't show off the movements like these shorter ones could. And, lets be real, the world in the 20s had enough romance, so maybe we need a bit of boldness and dramatic cuts instead! 😜
To summarize the #TutuTuesday lesson: The revolutionary skirts of Les Noces showed that the tutu is an incredible thing that you can play around with, changing lengths, styles and shapes all the time. The most incredible tutus for me have this fantastic sense of creativity and movement – just like that premiere of Les Noces on this special day in history, 30th November 1920! 🩰💖
You see, girls? In the world of dance, nothing stays the same! 👠 And I can’t wait to see what next week’s journey in #TutuTuesday takes me to.
And that is my story! Do leave a comment, give a shout on our social channels, or just email me over on the Pink Tutu Palace website (www.pink-tutu.com) and, of course, follow along as we explore more #TutuTuesday history together. Until then… Happy Dancing! ✨
