Hello darlings! It's Emma here, your resident pink tutu enthusiast and time-travelling ballerina extraordinaire! I'm so excited to be back for another #TutuTuesday, where we'll be waltzing through the wonderful world of ballet history.
This week, I'm hopping back in my trusty time-travelling top hat and landing in the gloriously glittery world of August 3rd, 1982! Imagine it – leg warmers are the height of fashion (they were just starting to go out of fashion!), neon colours are bursting from every boutique window, and everyone's rocking a shoulder pad bigger than your granny's armchair! Now, doesn't that sound utterly divine?
As for me, I've been scouring vintage markets and shops for the perfect outfit to fit in, and let me tell you, finding a perfectly pink tutu to compliment my 80s-inspired ensemble was easier than you'd think! We all know tutus are timeless, but let's face it, they looked even more amazing with the big hair and eye shadow of the 1980s!
Speaking of amazing things, on this very date, the world premiere of a ballet titled "The Return" happened in San Diego! I just imagine all the pink, sparkly tutus twirling across the stage as the San Diego Symphony played, transporting everyone to another world. Oh, to be there! (Sadly, my travel budget only allows for a glimpse from my little time-travelling bubble, but we’re working on it!)
So, where does our story begin? Today's trip through history, my darlings, takes us to the heart of ballet's development! *1982, if you can believe it, was a time of enormous change in the ballet world. *You see, back then, the idea of ballet as an accessible and everyday form of expression was still taking its first steps. Ballet schools weren’t everywhere, and there weren’t so many shows or films about ballet, either. It wasn’t the whirlwind of classes and competitions that we have today!
Now, if I were to time travel back, I'd certainly show those dancers of 1982 a thing or two about tutus! The truth is, the modern tutus we adore today haven’t always existed! While it may be hard to imagine a ballerina without a tulle skirt (and frankly, don't try to imagine that, it’s just unsettling), ballet actually started without tutus at all. The first ballets were inspired by court dances, and dancers would often wear costumes inspired by traditional clothing - even elaborate versions of dresses! Can you imagine a graceful ballet with dresses on stage?
But the invention of the tutu, with its fluffy layers and delicate danceability, came from one very important change in ballet history - the invention of pointe shoes! Before these delightful shoe-shaped works of art, dancers relied on a heavier version called “demi-pointe” shoes. Think of it like dancing in slightly sturdier ballet shoes, with a heavier construction for softer jumps. With these heavier shoes, dresses on stage seemed heavy, limiting dancers' ability to show off their graceful, precise movements!
Thankfully, dancers began working with lighter and lighter shoes that helped dancers really fly - with the introduction of the pointe shoe came the beautiful invention of the tutu, born from the idea that a dancer needs a skirt that would allow them to showcase their movements.
There was even an age of ‘pancake’ tutus for a while, designed to show off beautiful leaps and jumps but looking rather like fluffy pancakes than a full, voluminous skirt. It all depended on the choreographers' visions!
Nowadays, we’re spoilt for choice - we have classical, Romantic and more contemporary tutus. This means you can get anything from a simple tulle skirt for a solo act or a beautiful layered skirt, complete with fluffy feather details and lots of sparkly sequins! Some contemporary dance groups have moved away from tutus, which I personally think is a shame. Where is the drama, where is the twirling joy? Even just the act of spinning and showing off the beautiful lines and flow of the skirt - that’s art, darling, and it's irreplaceable!
As a dancer from Derbyshire myself, I know that the love of ballet runs deep in the British Isles! So many fantastic ballets are created and enjoyed in the UK, making us truly a land of tutus and grace. As a proud #TutuQueen, I hope that when I time travel through London next, I see more and more women walking down the street with their own pink tutus, making our world just a bit more magical and stylish!
I must go now, as I have a date with an opera (the Italian opera, of course! It's absolutely filled with those dramatic costumes and the kind of theatrical flair that has me completely swooning!) But until next week's #TutuTuesday, remember to spread the love and dance to your own rhythm, wherever you are, however you are, in your own perfect pink tutu. ✨
Stay fabulous, Emma 💖
