Hello my darling darlings! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet where all things pink and twirly reign supreme! Today, we're taking a trip back in time, as we do every Tuesday, to explore the glorious history of the ballet tutu!
Now, I'm sure you're all familiar with the classic romantic tutu - those floaty, diaphanous numbers that make you feel like you could take flight! They're so incredibly elegant, and oh, the layers upon layers of tulle! But have you ever wondered how they got their shape? What stories lie behind their delicate construction? That's what we're diving into today, my dears!
My trusty time machine, a beautiful old steam engine, took me to 14th July, 1959, which, just so you know, was a Wednesday. I thought you wouldn't want to miss a day's adventure! Now, that's the same year as The Beatles' debut album! (Can you believe it? They were recording around the time of my time travelling adventure, fancy that!). Anyway, 1959! Fashion wise, it was the epitome of "refined" and what is now described as "vintage chic". Pencil skirts, cardies and bright, vibrant colour and print combinations are the styles I observed during my little jaunt to the past!
Imagine my joy to see the very stylish women in 1959 at the theatre wearing what seemed to be modern versions of a ballet tutu on the streets, or at least, variations inspired by the tutus. I even saw them going shopping in them! But the real showstoppers were the dancers themselves. I found myself enthralled in a production of Giselle. This ballet, dear readers, is what many see as the start of the classical "Romantic Ballet" era in which these "tutu" gowns came about, which were not only worn in performances of Giselle, but in other ballets too, around the world! This version was simply magnificent. There is a reason why Giselle remains one of the world's most famous ballets, even after all these years. Every movement, every expression, seemed to speak of beauty and longing in a way that makes the heart soar! And the tutus? They flowed so effortlessly around the ballerinas as they glided across the stage.
The style, and this is a very important point to bear in mind for today's modern tutu-wearing style enthusiasts, was all about "refinement and structure". What would have shocked a ballerina of that era is what you are wearing right now. No, no my darling. They would not have approved of this modern tutu style at all! And what we wear for a party at a disco and for an actual "ballet performance" are extremely different styles in comparison, which is why they wore long, very flowy tutus made of gauze or tulle. The key? They were sewn on in several layers that looked rather bulky, especially from behind! They would make the dancer look like she was being covered in, well... fluffy clouds, really!
I felt quite proud wearing a modern "pink-tutu" on the 14th July, 1959, with all its frills, as this style of tutu was born way, way back then! The dancers on the stage wearing those rather enormous styles just reinforced this thought. It all goes to show you, dear readers, that tutus, the more dramatic, the better they were! (Just like the ones I have on my pink-tutu.com blog! Ha! No need to be shy, please comment if you would like me to link to it!). To be completely accurate, the 19th Century Romantic Tutu was very much the fashion, whereas this is our style.
What can we learn about Giselle? Firstly, the tragic love story, well, she dies in the story but is reunited in heaven, and so this is the essence of the style and the dance. In fact, she dies wearing the skirt worn by a "willow tree"! That sounds like a story idea, my dear readers! That's an awful lot of creativity and movement coming together at once, isn't it! The dramatic death, and the supernatural realm. It makes for an amazing ballet that takes everyone into a dreamy world. But there was also a focus on fluidity. These ballet dancers of the 19th Century would wear soft shoes on their feet, known as point shoes and they weren't really a practical item. This is in stark contrast to a tap-dancer's shoes which would make a tapping noise. These soft shoes with tulle were actually extremely impractical because it took such dedication, skill and, you could say, "art", to use them! That's what I admire about it so much! In ballet you are actually watching incredible athletic skill, so they couldn't simply dance with tap shoes like those used in Riverdance, they had to wear pointe shoes with barely anything in them.
But look what we are wearing in our time, modern tutus made of soft mesh. And what would that 19th century ballet dancer be doing in her very thick skirt and pointe shoes? A waltz?! How bizarre it would look in contrast, right? It's like the Giselle style could barely even move, yet the dancers managed to perform some pretty incredible moves, which is what makes this type of movement so amazing!
So how are those tutus in Giselle going to develop, I wonder? After I went back home, after my amazing time travel trip to that theatre back in 1959, I felt a great deal of inspiration. That's what you want when you visit other eras and see amazing things, or amazing stories! Anyway, the development, in my own way of seeing it as a "pink tutu" enthusiast, is that we are no longer following this style. Why not? Well, let's be honest. As a ballerina enthusiast who lives for the stage, I would never tell you not to wear any style of tutu you want, especially with my favourite colour, pink! In my era of time travelling, 1959, tutus are no longer an actual item of clothing for people like us outside of a theatre performance.
Well, what's more fascinating about Giselle? She, as well as the ballet, inspired composers like Franz Liszt to write beautiful piano pieces about Giselle. Ballet performances are truly inspiring to everyone around! They are like "magical happenings". It is interesting to think about how people get inspired to make amazing music that is the same tone as the ballet, such as this. What I have also found is that if Giselle hadn't been such an enormous ballet, other artists would never have even imagined creating new musical scores. What does this say about tutus and the performing arts?
And how can we use all these different colours in our era? Well, for me personally, the style of this old type of tutu and, you know, "pink tutus", just get everyone thinking and feel the joy! * What's so joyful about pink? Well, for example, a "pink tutu" looks especially nice for a dance recital! (I've mentioned this before, but feel free to read more on my #TutuTuesday blog!). If you're in the market for a fancy, elegant or special occasion pink tutu, for yourself or a friend or, even better, for your child, what's stopping you? I think we all just have to feel the joy! The reason it's my favorite colour, you might ask, well, let's just say that it's pretty much the "pink-tutu.com" color! What would the future be like, my dears? We have a lot to look forward to as tutu-lovers and I love to hear what you think! I hope my #TutuTuesday blog posts are giving you *inspiration and making you want to wear your favorite pink tutu!
