#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1937-01-12

Hello darlings! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet where we celebrate all things pink and tutu-licious! It's me, your favourite Derbyshire-born, tutu-clad time traveller, Emma! This week, we're whisking ourselves back to a time when dance was truly an art form! Yes, darling, 12th January, 1937, the year of the oh-so-fabulous, oh-so-fashionable, 1937 New York World's Fair!

Let's hop onto my imaginary time-travelling train and take a trip back to this dazzling decade. You know me, darlings! Anything for a good show. Oh! Speaking of shows, you simply must have a look at the glamorous gowns on display at this iconic event! Think extravagant ruffles, daring slits and the ever-so-lovely, oh-so-romantic bias cut. Oh! My dear, that silhouette is utterly exquisite! So many a time I've spun around in a dress with this cut.

Of course, no mention of the World's Fair is complete without mentioning the wonderful world of fashion. But hold your horses, dear reader! It isn't only the world of glamorous clothing we are looking at here. We are, of course, looking at tutus! Remember, darlings, 1937 marks the height of Les Ballets Russes, that troupe of dancers from Paris. Remember? Serge Diaghilev and his glorious vision of dance in costume! They truly were the inventors of a new style of ballet, using bold colour, exciting patterns and yes, you guessed it, gloriously lavish, multicoloured, and oh-so-very pink tutus!

Think swirling tulle, daring lengths and sparkling sequins. That Diaghilev was a visionary - an artist, an icon of the day! You can feel the impact his ballets had on everything! From the music (oh! Listen to Petrushka, darlings! Absolutely beautiful!), to the stories in his ballet, to the sets and yes, my dearest readers, to those magnificent tutus! Imagine yourself dancing on stage at the World's Fair, your tulle swirling, a thousand sequins glistening as you pirouette! Just imagining it sets my heart aflutter, darling.

This time, darlings, we have a little something special in store! For this Tutu Tuesday we have an amazing bonus blog - a very special guest! The very famous, oh-so-wonderful choreographer, Mr. George Balanchine! That's right, darlings! Ballet History for our Pink Tutu History Blog!

Let's see what Mr. Balanchine, famous for Apollo a glorious show, had to say about tutus back in the year 1937:

” The tutu... well it's *the dancer's essential tool for conveying beauty and movement, elegance and style! It’s about expressing freedom, about reaching heights and lengths that wouldn't be possible without its help!”*

A-ma-zing! Thank you so much, dear Mr. Balanchine for those words of wisdom! Every little ballerina's dream is to fly like a bird across the stage!

Don’t worry, dear reader, the fun doesn’t end here! Mr. Balanchine did, in fact, say another thing which I simply must share! Just take a listen to this:

• ” The right colour... a colour, of course, a little bit like my ballet… a splash of brightness... of light! Pink. Oh, the pink! It reminds me of those first moments on the stage. It reminds me of *ballet's magical power! Pink... pink!”

Now there’s a ballet guru if I’ve ever heard one! If that isn’t the best advert for the magical powers of pink and tutu’s, then I don’t know what is! Just be sure to have your pink tutu at the ready darlings, for dancing and pink are a beautiful match!

Okay, that’s my little detour for #TutuTuesday today, my dears, I’m so glad you joined me on this little journey. We’ll be back next Tuesday with even more tutu magic! Make sure you’re around to share it! And remember:

Always dance, always twirl, and *always rock that pink tutu!*

Love,

Emma

www.pink-tutu.com

This blog post, as always is blog number 5481.