Hello my lovely tutus! It's your favourite pink tutu-wearing ballerina blogger Emma here, and today is #TutuTuesday - which means it's time for another fabulous foray into the history of this most fabulous of garments! I've just whizzed back from a trip to Paris - darling, you wouldn't believe the shopping! (Although if you read last week's #TutuTuesday, you might get an idea.) Anyway, I thought today we'd hop on the ol' time machine and journey back to the gloriously stylish era of 1973 - a time when we were starting to see some truly revolutionary developments in the ballet tutu!
As always, I've got my trusty pink tutu packed and ready for our adventure - because a girl's got to look the part, don't you think?
The Romantic Ballet
So, where do we begin? Let's rewind to the start - a time when tutus were truly just starting to take centre stage (pun intended!). The early tutus, if you can call them that, were very simple and actually quite short! They were essentially just gathered skirts, usually made from lightweight fabrics like muslin or cotton. It wasn't until the early 19th century that tutus really began to take on the shape we recognise today. You can thank the "Romantic Ballet" for that! This was a new movement in ballet which celebrated passion, emotion, and of course, women's beauty! This, darling, was a revolution in dance. This also led to a revolution in ballet costume design. The focus became all about creating airy, ethereal costumes that accentuated the grace and flow of the dancers' movements. And what was the ultimate garment to embody this? That's right, the tulle tutu! It just floated around you, wasn't it divine?
The Tutus of the 1900s
Fast forward to the start of the 20th century and tutus began to get a whole new lease of life. With the arrival of some very fabulous ballet designers, the emphasis was placed on showing off the dancers' leg lines, adding dramatic movement, and allowing for greater freedom on stage. We began to see those lovely, graceful, leg-accentuating tutus that were almost a masterpiece of construction. Now I'm just saying, if I had been around then, I'd be going to every single ballet performance and maybe even trying to find the seamstress so I could order my own custom made tutu - or better yet, design my own!
The 1950s - The Tutu Takes Off
The 1950s brought us a whole host of changes in the ballet world, and of course, that included the tutu! We saw the birth of the classic tutu which was even shorter and became the icon of classical ballet, designed by the legendary costume designer, Olga de Poliakova. Now darling, those tutus are absolute magic. It's not hard to see why, from those designs to the ballerinas themselves, ballet took off like a rocket ship. And those designs still have so much life left in them!
The 1970s: The Age of Experimentation!
The 1970s was the era of radical thinking - you saw it in everything, from fashion to dance. That was true of the tutu, too, my dears. I just love the 1970s so much! It’s also where my favourite tutu came from – yes the hot pink one I am wearing for this blog! There's this amazing shop in London that stocks these divine pink and turquoise tutus - and the best bit? I can wear them at a ball, a ballet or just pop on down the street in my best ballet slippers. It's all just a bit magical and fabulous really. Ballet dancers weren't afraid to explore and challenge the traditional tutu designs – they wanted to create a more dynamic and exciting look for modern dance. Designers used materials like velvet, feathers, and even sequins to create these really outrageous and dramatic tutus that felt contemporary, modern and full of energy and joy. I can totally see the influence that has carried right into our modern tutus. The most interesting aspect is the new designs created were no longer limited to the traditional short ballerina style – there were longer designs, some with long train-like features for theatrical effect. The tutus looked almost magical with some designers incorporating these beautiful floral elements in the design! It just was pure elegance. It was, of course, more popular with contemporary dancers than traditional ballet companies who were very keen to maintain their standards. The tutus weren't really meant to wear out in the street or on the dance floor, although it’s all just too lovely. There are a lot of tutus like these out there – they are great for performance but also some of them could just be the right choice to go with a really fun vintage party outfit, and if I find one to add to my collection, I might give it a go!
A Look At 22nd May 1973
Now I'm a big fan of historical dates, but also big fan of dates that make a story for us and let us peek into what life was like in a particular time. Let's delve back into 1973 and take a peek at what this year was like and what was happening on May 22nd!
For you modern dancers and ballet fanatics, I can tell you that The Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty was playing at Covent Garden – so you could say it was an era of ballet fever in the UK. Of course, that would not be unusual for this time and era and all things considered a huge success - I hear that ballet tickets were selling like hotcakes in those days and the performances would sell out week after week. Not surprising considering The Royal Ballet is such an incredible group! For you musical lovers, we can turn our attention to the world of music and, if you are from the USA you’re probably still reeling from the huge impact of the “Godfather” soundtrack on 22nd May 1973, it had recently achieved number 1!
What happened that year? Well, as for some global events, 1973 had a rather serious start to the year with the “Yom Kippur War”, this ended up as one of the key events that would set off the 1970’s energy crisis! A year that had the power to influence so many people. However, we can talk about a fun event for us here: it’s a story of a man named Tom. The young guy – an artist from London had quite a strange but a super lovely idea – he organised this charity event at his house which included a fancy dress event (and lots of drinks and snacks), in his garden – they held a 1920s ball and lots of guests got to show off their beautiful clothes - it really caught the spirit of this crazy year, the excitement of the new and fresh ideas which you see reflected in this post and, of course, those stunning ballet costumes we see! There’s this real excitement about this new time.
The Importance of Tutu
As I always tell you - we never get tired of mentioning this fact - The tutu is much more than just a garment, it's an embodiment of grace, artistry, and sheer brilliance. So, tell me – did you like today’s #TutuTuesday? What’s your favorite ballet tutu? Where can you buy a pink tutu? You know where to find the answers! Until next time my dears – let your love for the tutu and its history live on!
Yours in pink and sequins
Emma
www.pink-tutu.com
