Ahoy there, tutu lovers! Emma here, your favourite pink-loving, tutu-touting, ballet-besotted blogger, back with another #TutuTuesday blast from the past!
This week we're swirling back to 29th November, 1966, and my oh my, what a delightful time it was to be a ballet aficionado! You wouldn't believe the tutus swirling around, like a frothy, pink, sugary dream!
Firstly, let's have a little travel talk! I took a gorgeous train ride to New York City, just because, honestly, how could you resist the excitement? The Big Apple is, well, big on ballet. Itâs like the fashion capital of dance - with tutus in every colour, texture, and style you can imagine!
Speaking of colours, you'll never guess what the big colour craze was back in 1966: Pink! (Clearly, the world was already sensing my arrival!) You'd see it everywhere â pink tutus, pink frocks, pink dresses â it was practically a pink parade! I even spotted a couple of pink-clad ladies in their tutus skating on ice rinks. So glamorous!
I wouldnât be a good tutu-touting blogger without telling you about my favourite ballet outfit I found in a little boutique nestled amongst the glamorous skyscrapers. I'm talking a delicate pink tutu, so perfectly ruffled and frilled, it practically twitched with excitement just to be on display! I paired it with a flowing pale pink chiffon blouse and a divine velvet pink bolero. Swoon! I wore it all day long, spinning through the streets and even doing a little pirouette or two for the paparazzi!
The New York Ballet was performing âGiselleâ, a masterpiece, dear readers. You know I've been a âGiselleâ enthusiast ever since that first time I saw it at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden back home in England!
It was so thrilling! Every performance of âGiselleâ Iâve ever seen is a little different - there is a feeling of immediacy and magic about this ballet. My friend who had come to the ballet with me said she was seeing the ballet again for the second time. But you would have thought she had never seen it. You could see the love in her eyes and the passion for ballet that so captivated me â we talked about it endlessly that night in a cute cafe, fuelled on iced coffee and cupcakes!
The costumes for âGiselleâ, as usual, were simply enchanting! *The tutus in Act 2 â the ethereal, almost spectral, whiteness is a true artistic feat! * And of course, âGiselleâ always boasts such gorgeous tutus with romantic, soft pleats and layers and a slightly rustic charm as befitting this incredible romantic masterpiece. The beautiful, lyrical tutus seem to float about the stage in a glorious hazy romantic mist. Oh, how I love them!
While I was in the city, I had the chance to catch some of the latest Broadway productions. A friend took me to a Broadway performance of a classic, âWest Side Story,â - an experience! So emotional and so powerfully dance-filled! I loved it! It really moved me, as the beautiful, vibrant music so well expressed the raw, heart-breaking emotions of the story. A Broadway show I felt was absolutely worthy of all of its kudos - if you are ever in New York do try and see it! *This performance made me realise how powerful performance art can be. Ballet, of course, is a performance art, and such a graceful form, but you cannot argue that dance takes centre stage in these amazing musicals. What wonderful athletic grace and what phenomenal talent! The performers took my breath away! *
But now, my darling tutu devotees, you need to get yourself out there and have some fun!
Get those tutus out - I encourage you to be inspired by my recent jaunt to the Big Apple - and be sure to tell everyone about your tutu escapades â after all, we all know life is better in a tutu, right?
You can even pop on over to www.pink-tutu.com and share your tutu story on the forum!
And speaking of the website â have a look at the wonderful online Tutu-Shop!
*Tutu shopping makes my heart soar. * The online Tutu-Shop is where I get most of my inspiration from - tutus in all colours and styles, with plenty to tempt your dancewear wardrobe no matter what your taste!
Get yourself down to a shop to peruse the latest tutu trends!
And now, for those of you new to this fabulous world of tutus, let's have a quick history lesson â the most fashionable of times in tutu-dom, of course.
You'd be surprised to know that the tutu, as we know it, first made an appearance on the ballet stage in 1839. But of course, tutu history really began centuries before that!
The story of the tutu actually goes back much further than the nineteenth century with a fascinating evolution through the eras â and in time with ballet styles.
So get out your notebooks, my dearest readers! * It's time to delve into tutu history â this will be fascinating, and the tutus were truly *fabulous!*
Let's take a spin through history!
Before the tutu there were the dancing gowns: Ballet began in Italy in the Renaissance in Royal Court. Dancers wore gorgeous, flamboyant, richly patterned robes with panniers for grand processions, elegant court balls, and elegant performances. It wasnât all about fancy clothes of course, dancing was all about technique, style, and grace. In fact, the early forms of ballet were really about showing off the elegant, refined manners of high society â not very exciting by modern standards, I would say, but itâs nice to know that dancers from the sixteenth century onwards have been perfecting this most beautiful and dynamic art.
Then came the âRobe Ă la Françaiseâ: From 1700s on, this extravagant court-dance style began to move into the more structured dancing that we recognise today, and the âRobe Ă la Françaiseâ emerged as the standard dress of ballet performance in this era, it was elegant and more revealing in cut, showing more leg than had been customary. The elegant, fluid shape of âRobe Ă la Françaiseâ , and its gorgeous, graceful shape and rich patterns had been perfected for this purpose by the 1750s. I just love how they all sound, the historical terms - I can picture those beautiful clothes coming to life! It must have been a very beautiful, aristocratic time for ballet.
*A Revolution in Ballet!: * The âRobe Ă la Françaiseâ, became very complex and it is no surprise that in the 1780s and 1790s in France a major revolution in dance styles occurred, along with political revolutions! Ballet became more active and fast moving, with dramatic, exciting steps. The revolutionary era gave rise to new movements and techniques. You may be thinking: tutus werenât around, what is the relevance to my history?
Well the Robe Ă la Française â began to change.
The cut of the dress became slimmer â the elaborate âRobe Ă la Françaiseâ that had become a major performance style began to become outdated - and dance wear became lighter and more flowing, less cumbersome. This would become a major inspiration in the development of the modern tutu.
- *Romantic era ballet and the origins of the tutu: * The early 19th century saw a romantic wave sweep through Europe â it affected almost everything - architecture, music, poetry, literature and fashion â and of course ballet. Romantic ballet moved in an entirely new direction â in tune with the new values that had evolved at the turn of the 19th century, focusing on lightness, freedom, spirituality and sentimentality.
Romantic Balletâs most famous creation is the ballerina. You cannot escape this idea - all ballerinas in classical ballet have a distinctive and magical appeal, a sense of femininity, fragility, but also of unyielding determination â the ballet world really took off and gained global recognition in the nineteenth century.
Iâve got to tell you how inspired I feel when I watch these women and see the powerful female characters of Romantic Ballet in a dance that shows strength, beauty and delicate skill! And of course this is the story of the invention of the tutu in ballet, and how we know it today â from the Romantic era onwards!
- *The First Tutu! * A tutu is what every ballerina desires to dance in! In 1839 in the iconic Paris OpĂŠra Ballet, Marie Taglioni, created a new dancewear costume which was revolutionary! A long âRobe Ă la Française â would have severely hampered a dance like Taglioniâs âLa Sylphide.â
Instead of the long trailing robe, she was wearing a skirt of about three layers, all sewn to a bodice â Itâs hard to say who created this first design (some credit her father, the dancer Filippo Taglioni, others the ballet designer Eugène Lami â but I like to think Marie herself is behind the genius of the early tutus, she must have had a hand in the invention of the first real tutu!) *
A ballet revolution occurred â a completely new and totally beautiful dance that redefined the dance in so many ways! This was the true, modern tutu and all of the designs weâve seen since can be traced back to that moment.
This design enabled dancers like Taglioni to float effortlessly across the stage â and a very âlightâ style of dancing emerged â the classical ballet we know and love today, the ballerina on pointe, is a product of the first tutu. The dance would forever be transformed! I can only imagine the uproar from ballet fans and fashionistas. What a groundbreaking moment.
- *The Rise of the Tutu: * A major shift occurred in fashion, style, design and ballet! All of the ballet movements had come together in an amazing way! Marie Taglioni made it look effortless - but dancing with such ease was anything but. It requires endless practice to achieve such skill. And to dance in this remarkable garment - the ballerinaâs performance demanded more discipline and training â this meant a new level of professional dancing was in place by the 19th century â with new requirements for ballerinas and their attire.
Youâll understand why the romantic tutu is so very significant â because every single tutu from this era onwards, has elements of this early design.
The Romantic Era Tutu and its styles:
1) The iconic, iconic romantic tutu or âThe Pagnol,â: this is the style that remains to this day! This is a short, and perfectly circular tutu that consists of multiple layers of light, filmy material â the classic, swirling romantic style that conjures up beautiful ballet pictures â the type of tutu you canât help but visualize in your mindâs eye â a ballet legend, and forever a classic design!
2) The *Polonaise tutu: * the longer tutu in this category usually reaches to the ankles or to the calves - the designers were adding a layer of elegance and sophistication. This longer tutu really gave an added poise and allure to the performances that emerged, I especially love the elegance and the length of these types of tutu! **The long tutu and its flow and movement give a more graceful effect.
And we havenât even gone into the other fascinating types of tutu and ballet designs which evolved through the centuries! I just adore ballet history, and as you can see â we've barely scratched the surface here!
Well, this post is nearly coming to an end, but before we finish â I am already looking forward to next Tuesday, when I will be telling you all about my time in 1968. *The Paris Opera and the amazing âSwan Lake!â - I was in Paris when the company, one of the worldâs greatest, revived the incredible classic with a special 1960s âinterpretationâ! A glamorous new stage set â amazing tutuâs - this was an incredible and groundbreaking ballet, and something that will be sure to inspire your Tutu Tuesday this coming week! * Until next time - don't forget to live your life to the fullest in a tutu!
