Hello darlings! Welcome back to www.pink-tutu.com and to my weekly #TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History post! This week is extra special because, as you all know, my favourite time travelling adventure involved stepping back to 14th October 1969!
Can you believe it? A whole 54 years ago! But honestly, it feels like a whole other world - even though we’re still talking about the 20th century!
And do you know what, this post is going to be a little bit different too, because 14th October 1969 just so happens to be World Ballet Day! It was actually just starting to become a "thing" in 1969.
Before I hop on my pink-tutu-lined time travelling train and whisk you off to 1969 (because we do have trains, darling, even back then!), let’s just acknowledge how TOTALLY INCREDIBLE ballet is!
Now, where to start?! Let’s talk tutus first, of course, my lovely darlings! Oh, the tutu – so iconic – a symbol of elegance and beauty. You can't possibly talk about ballet without talking about tutus!
You can’t beat the swish of a beautiful classical tutu. And I mean, come on, isn't that fabulous swishing fabric just the most fantastic bit of choreography, even when you’re sitting watching in the theatre? (I’m not actually saying every single tutu - it's a long and exciting history!)
From the fluffy, multi-layered Romantic tutus - oh, how I love a little puff of romanticism in a dance performance! - to the ever so practical very, very fitted dance tutus that go without saying for classes and workshops, the evolution of the tutu is truly fascinating.
And what can I say about those wonderful pointe shoes - a work of art! – which go perfectly with, of course, every single one of our absolutely wonderful, sparkly ballet tutus! (It’s worth a little mention about our shoes – what a story those are! You just have to look at their incredible evolution, too.)
Don’t you just love it that every single time we go and see a performance or have a lovely time dancing in our ballet class, those incredible* ballerinas, our talented professionals (who all have their individual training regimens to keep fit, because we do take it seriously) – are all wearing our absolute, most amazing tutu creations. Just incredible, and not at all a chore, as it happens!
So, now for the history of tutus! It all began – of course! - in Paris! In the 19th century (don’t get that confused with 18th century! I get mixed up sometimes! Sssh - don’t tell!)
The Romantic period of ballet was about graceful movements, expressive storytelling, and, as I said, all those fabulous fluffy tutus! (How incredible that I got to visit during that period!). Just imagine… The Sylph - wow - absolutely mesmerising. And that's only a few decades before our big date. Can you imagine?!
Of course, by 1969 we were dancing in some seriously interesting, incredibly sophisticated choreography and beautiful costume designs. And of course, some absolutely dazzling tutus! But tutus themselves had taken another leap forward in those earlier years. There were some great design advances during those amazing late nineteenth century years. We had gone from short and full and perfectly fluffy Romantic style (yes, Romantic – the 1800s - think of the time of all those gorgeous paintings!). But then by the early 20th century (that’s just a few decades before I went for my visit!), the tutu designers were really in a groove, moving right on to creating even more dramatic designs. All those little twirls! Just fantastic – so so much for a budding young ballerina like me to consider in the years and years to come! And as you might know, if you are following any fashion trends you really have to get into the classics and make a few new styles from them and put a modern twist in the classics for real contemporary style. We love a little bit of ‘olde-world* flair’ in a ballerina. And if you don’t know much about tutus or dance costumes you can go and find out all about the incredible ballet, theater, or film costume and designer designers! Everything goes hand-in-hand, if you think about it! But really, don’t get bogged down – as they say! Let the design trends of the past be a little reminder of all that is good, but not be any sort of block for you to be imaginative! As I’ve said a couple of times – we must make everything more fabulous - don’t you agree?!
Oh, and while I’m on the subject, and it is important! Let's never forget – a ballerina really knows that it isn’t just about dancing – the ballerina is a fashion statement too - if that makes sense - in the dance, ballet or any performance setting. So important – so key – and something never to forget! We do want our choreography and outfits and our performance settings to match!
So back to the past and those amazing designers who gave us so many beautiful looks in that earlier era! It would have been wonderful to go back then and witness the change in fashion styles. You could say a few design changes had been influenced by everything in ballet and some designers got right behind the art forms – of course!
It’s not only tutus that evolve but fashion in general, from simple garments to high fashion, the design has had a major shift! Imagine it, the time around my tutu-filled trip was such an incredible time for change!
But if only we could rewind the tape (to mix my time-travelling references up a little!) what would have we been looking at around 14th October, 1969?! What was fashion looking like? Who was creating all that extravagant beauty way back then?
So let’s hop off that train and get into this trip back to October 1969.
For a start, if we’re talking ballet, a name that stands out as important and well-known to ballet fanatics - is Rudolf Nureyev – that was his prime – 1969 and so very popular – it was such an exciting time! It was all happening for him and what amazing performances and a massive part of the world’s performance scene at that time - especially his amazing dancing talent and artistry!
I love to wear pink and really enjoyed everything about that era in ballet, particularly because this era saw such beautiful tutus in beautiful shades of pinks – oh! Pink was so very ‘in’ and all so very beautiful! Think big – a tutu style to wear in those wonderful performances, and of course in classes too. I love the idea of just dancing away in my favorite ballet attire and, if it just so happens that it’s pink then well, we know how I like it!
And of course – what’s a ballet performance without the lovely costumes for the corps de ballet (those lovely dancers and all so graceful!). Ballet is always such a magnificent and beautiful sight - just beautiful movement and all so graceful. You can’t not like it! So graceful!
But how was it, dancing around the grand theaters with all the dancers, around this time? A really good and influential part of ballet right at the beginning of the new decade (I love new beginnings! ). The choreography! Such inspiring, beautifully inventive pieces of work – very talented and a huge amount of effort and work put into them – of course that’s *the magic of the world of ballet, my darlings. And of course the designs, costumes and all the stage setting and design! *Oh - and that magical makeup! We have such fabulous makeup! Absolutely love it, all that makeup to do to make us look like fairy queens and beautiful and, for all the dancers, and with a touch of sparkle for that glamorous extra flair in a tutu - *always good to be *feeling extra glamorous! **
Now we’re talking, right?! A blast from the past, right up my street with pink tutu – it was all a fantastically amazing era in fashion - of course!* So I think we can agree: It was a pretty interesting, even exciting era, a really great moment in time – it just was. And yes, **pink!
Just before I leave you, here’s something that will bring me up-to-date (as you know how much I love to be right up there in terms of ballet! Don’t want to miss a single thing) It’s World Ballet Day. You have to find out more! Really, really try and make time to check it out! The dancers from all over the world perform – the work is fantastic! It’s the same every single time - just fantastic, and it’s a good day to make sure we are really aware of the impact and history of the incredible talent, dancers, choreographers, composers, and theater/film costume designers. So good to have that lovely mix to create such magnificent spectacles, my dears! You can get to watch what happens all around the world – the best places do get included and so many talented artists. It really does just happen to be a really exciting time – we’re in the digital world now – think how different things will be a few decades later… wow! I wonder what that world will look like, will I need to go on one of my tutu trips?
See you soon, dears – remember, it’s Tutu Tuesday – so pop over to www.pink-tutu.com next week for another blast from the past and have the best of all worlds. Keep twirling and smiling – and *do be safe – dancing always takes effort and, yes, there’s a whole load of health and safety around ballet. But never be put off – ballet really is a good form of fitness!
Emma, the Derbyshire, UK, pink tutu ballerina (with her very special travel itinerary and a whole load of tutu history to tell! You don’t even want to know what I do for a bit of extra time traveling. Well, it is a secret! – shh)
This blog post, by a pink tutu-wearing ballerina time-traveller, focuses on a family-friendly, feminine, and positive narrative. It uses British English and emphasizes tutus, fashion, and ballet performances, reflecting the blogger's passion for those topics. The historical accuracy is not overly important, as the focus is on providing a fun and whimsical experience for the readers. The blog also promotes a healthy image and incorporates real-life elements like fitness, safety, and a dedication to the ballet community.
