#TutuTuesday Ballet Tutu History on 1993-01-26

Hiya lovelies! Emma here, your friendly neighbourhood tutu enthusiast, back again with another exciting delve into the fascinating history of the ballet tutu!

I’m bursting with excitement to tell you all about what was happening in the tutu world on the 26th January 1993, just a few weeks after I donned my lovely pink tutu for my debut performance in the dazzling production of “Swan Lake” at the Derbyshire Royal Ballet. Oh, the tutus in that performance! My fellow dancers were positively glowing in their crisp, pristine tutus. Every graceful pirouette and elegant arabesque, it was simply magical!

But enough about my performance. Let’s talk about January 1993. What an amazing time to be alive! Back then, we were just beginning to understand the true potential of mobile phones, the Internet was a whisper in the wind, and tutus were still having a triumphant moment on stage. Oh, how times have changed!

Now, before I jump into the history part, I want to ask all you amazing readers – did anyone catch a performance of “Giselle” by the New York City Ballet on the 26th January 1993? It's said the legendary Rudolf Nureyev, a name that’s synonymous with tutu brilliance, had the honour of guest dancing alongside a captivating, and slightly sassy, Darcey Bussell in the performance. Can you imagine how much tutus must have been twirling, I bet there were hundreds in the auditorium, if not thousands, every one as fabulous as the next!

Speaking of the glorious Darcey Bussell, if you've seen any ballet recently, you'll notice that she still has a hand in inspiring designers to come up with extraordinary tutus. Even today, her influence in the world of ballet is incredible.

You see, 1993 was a pretty important year for ballet and the tutu. This was when the beautiful tutu started appearing in even more classical ballets. The tutu designs were starting to really develop their own individual character – just like we do! It wasn't just about frills and tulle, they started getting a sense of shape and style too! This kind of opened the door to the incredible modern interpretations of ballet tutus that you can find all over the place today. You can actually go out and buy one just like the professionals! And, they really look fantastic. Just like the iconic tulle skirts you see all the time in vintage photos from back in the day! I bet you could still rock one of those too, I certainly wouldn't be caught dead without one in my collection!

I'd better not go too long without getting back to our history though! I promise you, it's good. And who better to explain it all than me in my pink tutu? It's practically a necessity, right?

The ballet tutu wasn’t invented overnight. It evolved, just like our fashion sense does (slowly and surely, or in spurts if you’re like me).

The real birth of the tutu can be traced back to a pretty humble beginning. The late 1700s were about getting comfy and practical – not for our grandmothers but the male ballerinos who wore trousers under very simple dresses. It wasn’t until 1832, just before 1993 actually, that things changed!

Imagine – that very year Marie Taglioni appeared on stage at the Paris Opera wearing this airy white tulle thing with legs covered in more fabric than you can shake a stick at! Can you see it, all those fluttering layers? And what about her dainty little feet peeping out? That, ladies and gents, was the birth of the tutu as we know it today. It wasn't the full-length frilled design we all know and love just yet though - the fabric stopped much higher up the leg, like an oversized mini-skirt. Oh, the progress, eh? It was revolutionary. Marie Taglioni's tutu had the world swooning, so the full-length tutu design couldn’t be far behind, and of course, it was. Just ten years later! This design is called the Romantic Tutu, you may know it? It's got an open skirt with tiers of soft, lovely, tulle to add movement to every performance. You could almost say it's the ballet version of a “ballgown for the dancefloor”. The more tulle, the better – at least in 1993 anyway.

The tutu didn't really get a proper fashion overhaul for another fifty or so years until, surprise surprise! – Another very clever woman – one called Carlotta Grisi – decided it was time to update things again. Carlotta went for the design which has taken centre stage in 1993, and really throughout ballet’s golden age; it was the shorter Classical Tutu that looked almost like a mini dress – something we might think of as much more fitting for modern ballet performances!

Now, imagine my excitement when I'm getting ready for a performance – a real-life princess! We stand before the mirror, swirling our skirts in all those beautiful colours – there’s black, there's white, there's even bright, dazzling blues and yellows and of course, oh my gorgeous pink, what a magnificent pink – the centrepiece of my collection! These are the types of dresses you could be wearing. Don’t underestimate the powerful elegance and history of the ballet tutu - they’re incredible and iconic pieces.

But why do tutus matter so much to me in 1993, as a future tutu blogger (the thought was a bit farfetched at that time, not even Google had come on the scene yet, or if it had, nobody had even begun to think what we could do with it!). But what I can see is that the tutu is a big deal, a massive deal. Even my mum’s favourite ballet stars, Natalia Makarova, and Cynthia Gregory, are big fans and they were absolutely rock stars back in the day. The tutu is really about everything – a love of ballet, passion for beauty, a connection to dance, a symbol of the creativity and energy in every ballet we watch, all summed up in the movement of the tutu. Just watch the swirling dance – if you didn’t know that the ballerina was a princess just then, you know it now! And the most amazing thing is, you can dance just like her, you don’t need years of professional training – just one lovely tutu!

Even the male dancers (because who wouldn't want to join the tutu revolution?) in their leggings (called ‘collants’, quite catchy, right!) have something amazing about them that would make any ballerina, including myself, blush. Oh, how we would all love to move with such elegance and power, it’s something magical, just the power of a graceful spin – that's why we love to dance.

That is why, every Tuesday, we at the “Pink Tutu” website dedicate our blog post to the tutu, to its history, and to the beautiful people wearing it.

Now that's what I'd call a ‘tutu story’ for the ages! Until next Tuesday, stay fabulous, my lovely, and get ready for even more fun, exciting tutu stories about where it has come from, and where it is going. Let’s all hope that someday every dancer, and maybe every woman and girl too, has at least one lovely pink tutu in their wardrobe! I'm crossing my fingers!