Bonjour mes amies! It’s Emma here from Derbyshire, England. Welcome to another fabulous #TutuTuesday from my ballet tutu history blog. It’s so good to be here today – are you ready for a trip back in time with me to a time of elegant dancers and fabulous frocks? Today’s #TutuTuesday journey takes us to 10 April 1945! Hop aboard the tutu time train, my lovelies!
Oh, and did I tell you? I’m living the dream - today I was at La Scala in Milan watching the beautiful “La Bayadere” production - absolutely divine! It was so beautiful; the music was perfection, and the dancers, they just flew through the air, so light and graceful, it made me want to cry.
I must confess I did pop into the boutiques in Milan’s chic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - you just can’t resist a little shopping when you’re in such a gorgeous city. I think I snagged myself the perfect blush-pink tutu with exquisite detailing for my upcoming performance in "Giselle" later this week – you know, gotta keep my tutu game on point!
Now, let's jump on our tutu time train and get ready to travel to 10th April 1945 - hold on tight ladies!
We’re going to focus today on a beautiful time in ballet history – what were they wearing then, and how did the tutu get its modern form? The evolution of this delicate dance staple is one that's as graceful and interesting as a “Pas de Deux" ballet move - and I can’t wait to tell you about it.
Here's a little backstory about ballet before we hit our date, 10 April 1945 - back then ballet was about to change its entire shape. Up to that date, ballet had been very tightly constrained and controlled by strict social expectations. Ladies wore what I’m tempted to call the “classic romantic” tutu – it had lots of layers, flowing silk, very feminine, beautiful. But those lovely layers didn’t help when they were dancing en pointe! They had so many problems - think of it as an "overdressed mermaid!" They were basically, unable to dance - they just stood there and posed beautifully with very small little steps, very different from what we’re used to now, darling! The long skirts made the "classic romantic" look divine – a classic era and so beautiful, like paintings brought to life!
I’m a huge fan of that romantic era; but my dear blog-followers you know I’m also about freedom, expressing yourself, dancing! Ballet has moved on, thank goodness - you can't stay in one era - progress! And this era - in 1945 - marks an important stage for ballet and the evolution of the tutu, it’s truly iconic, you could call it “The Transformation”
What do we know about the tutu from 10th April 1945? The first thing we know, my loves, it’s about “dancing,” freedom, freedom to move, to dance en pointe, the tutu moves the ballerina, doesn't stop them, just as a dressmaker who knew their trade would use patterns to create the beautiful, flowing skirts in the Romantic Era – but they weren’t really fit for dancing in my view. I have tried wearing those classic ballet romantic tutus a few times when I travel through time - believe me they’re a chore for a true ballerina - it’s about keeping the classic beauty - a little too elegant to “dance!”
They’re really the beginning of a trend that’s changed ballet's entire focus to freedom – freedom to show the body's elegant form - and move the body - dance - and 1945 marks that shift, like the year when women began to get a bit more independent!
There are other important influences that started the tutu revolution - in 1938 Serge Diaghilev, an extraordinary producer of Russian Ballets and the first ballet impresario, launched his “The Ballet Russes” with a vision to create an artistic impact, breaking from the old ways and ushering in a “modern” approach. Now he did that with costumes and choreography but those little tweaks to the tutus helped shift those “Romantic" restrictions of dancing to this era – more dance! And you all know this - freedom from constricting clothing and the ability to move freely allows your creativity as a dancer to flow; it makes the beautiful ballets that we love to see and experience!
And in 1939 in New York City George Balanchine, a Russian-American dancer and choreographer with some very big ideas for the world of ballet, created a revolution. It was a big event, darling! His revolutionary dance company, the "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo", which included a few ballerinas, decided it was time for a new tutu - “The Modern Ballet” era - something practical for the dancers that also created beauty - that balanced the need to show beauty on stage with elegance. A perfect combination and in those days the very clever designers achieved both. It created a new vision, and everyone got involved - they had “A Party,” and from 1945 the Tutu evolved and changed; it started in Paris, France and it took hold across the whole balletic world!
1945 also started what some consider “The Age of the Classical Ballet”; but here’s what you might not know – even with the modern style tutu, designers and costume makers continued to design tutus that were just “romantic,” with beautiful lines that emphasized the form and shape – so both types of tutus still exist to this day - if you want to watch the change, go see “Giselle" for the “Romantic” tutu and watch "Swan Lake," and “Don Quixote”, “La Bayadère” for “The Age of the Classical Ballet” - and remember they evolved and became modern with the evolution of the tutu!
Let me bring us back to 10th April, 1945 the year the "age of Classical ballet" began; there were more significant changes in dance that created new steps, the use of different music and it gave new, inspiring freedom, beauty, artistry, to those brilliant dancers that came into the age. It also saw dancers like Maria Tallchief and Margot Fonteyn - some truly iconic women - so beautiful and with incredible dancing - taking their place on the world stage; It was the birth of a new ballerina age! And yes of course we must all mention the extraordinary ballet ballerina Anna Pavlova - truly a legend in the ballet world - her grace, agility, elegance and charm took everyone's breath away and left audiences enchanted, that made an even greater influence!
That is why on my tutu time machine blog we can’t overstate the importance of the tutu from 1945 - for the way that it has allowed a whole new dance era and the beauty we experience when we watch ballet - it just proves that a few beautiful pieces of fabric and lace, and yes, the creativity of designers is enough to move the entire world of ballet and create some of the most memorable moments that we cherish - just think, darling, of the joyful stories of dancers, of the fabulous outfits and dresses and shoes; and the incredible art and talent; think about all of that and remember what those ballet ladies gave us in those early days – some brave women!
From 10th April 1945 onwards we began to see tutus becoming much more simple with their classic structure remaining; but instead of layers, the beauty was in how they flowed as the dancers moved, they were more fitted to show the elegance of the leg and foot as it reached high above the ballerina's head. This is an absolute iconic, glamorous ballet outfit that, like a ballerina’s silk shoe, makes every dance and performance unforgettable. It still evokes that graceful and whimsical, whimsical beauty, the image that everyone has about a ballerina.
So there you have it darling - our trip to 10th April 1945 – and we see the “modern era” and a few important events, for the world of ballet - the revolution that began with some clever costume designers - the time period when a change for the beautiful tutu happened that made a whole new form of dance, ballet. It truly created a more powerful look and it gave freedom to those ballerinas and it's that same spirit of passion, excitement and freedom, that I want to share with you my lovely tutu readers - just have fun! Go grab a pretty tulle or chiffon, some elastic or some pretty ribbons - use some glue, some glitter, a sewing machine - a lot of creativity and a little time - and make your own pink tutu today and show me - post a photo on pinktutu.com! You won’t regret it, darling!
And just remember that tutu’s will make your dancing even more free, more elegant - more wonderful! Keep following me each #TutuTuesday.
Until next Tuesday, my dears. Stay sparkly!
Emma
www.pink-tutu.com
Pink Tutu Emma
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