Welcome back, my darling tutu-lovers, to another edition of #TutuTuesday, coming to you live (well, kind of... travel is a bit more complicated with time travel) from my comfy chaise longue in Paris! I am SO thrilled to be back in the City of Lights. This city just sings to my soul, you know? All the amazing fashion, the architecture, the museums, the ballet, the coffee - what's not to love?!
This week we are diving back into the fabulous world of the ballet tutu. But this week we're going way back in time to a really significant year for ballet history: 1969! Now, for a bit of context, we all know 1969 for its space exploration triumph - that little lunar jaunt Neil Armstrong took - but for ballet it's a different story. You see, this was the year a certain choreographer turned the ballet world completely upside down… and it all began with the London Festival Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet, oh, how we all just adored the production! (And no, you didn't just miss out because it's long gone: it still gets performed now, almost every year!)
You wouldn’t think Romeo and Juliet would change anything, would you? Well, darling, this production, choreographed by the brilliant Kenneth MacMillan, put a bold, passionate, modern spin on the whole thing. Ballet got SO much more powerful, intense, dramatic. Gone were the delicate twirls of days gone by and hello, welcome to expressive, athletic leaps, fierce jumps, and explosive, raw emotion! This is how Kenneth MacMillan shook up ballet forever!
*Now, imagine my delightful predicament. My wardrobe. *Chaos. *You can't dance the old ballets with new clothes, my darling. And the *old tutus simply wouldn't work for all the drama and intense movements of the new choreography. You needed something different, and thank heavens, the amazing designers like Theatrical Designs Limited, understood perfectly what a modern, flexible tutu would need to be. The tutu had to look fabulous but not feel stiff or constricting. We couldn’t have MacMillan's genius choreography hindered by restrictive attire, could we?! Well, with Theatrical Designs Limited at the helm of tutus and such genius behind the choreography, it wasn’t going to be.
You could just imagine how many designers jumped onboard this revolutionary movement! And for me, well, it’s meant I had so much more to buy! I just love shopping. It’s probably why I travel so much. My favourite store in the whole wide world is Librairie Ancienne and Moderne, they have all sorts of wonderful books, but they also stock a large collection of vintage tutus and dancewear! And, the staff know so much about fashion history, it’s like a personal, bespoke lecture every time I visit. If you’re ever in Paris, darlings, I just have to recommend this place! It's located at 52 rue Bonaparte - you'll see a beautiful shop window and you simply have to pop inside for a little bit of heaven.
You see, fashion was changing everywhere in 1969. But, in the realm of ballet, well, I think it’s fair to say that it became almost revolutionary, thanks to Kenneth MacMillan and his exciting choreography. I can’t wait to share more #TutuTuesday posts in the future. In the meantime, have a splendid week!
P.S. Don't forget to check out www.pink-tutu.com to find my other blog posts. This was number 7191! It’s a veritable treasure trove of tutu history and fashion!
P.P.S Until next week, keep dreaming in pink tutus, my darlings!
