Hiya darlings! It’s Emma here, back with another #TutuTuesday! My oh my, where do I even begin with this week’s fascinating tutu tale? It’s all about the glorious, twirling, and just so very pink tutus of February 13th, 1996! This date, as we all know, marks the very special occasion of Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate than with a twirling, pink-tinted story? This time I'm even channeling my inner romantic and taking the train journey all the way to Paris! Who doesn't love a dash of romance and the romance of ballet?!
And speaking of romance, isn't this tutu simply divine? I found it nestled in the back of an old costume trunk in an attic on the outskirts of Paris. This delightful tulle concoction is the perfect shade of ballerina pink – think "cloud-like" and "softest whisper of rose," which is absolutely essential for that romantic Parisian flair.
But let's dive into some historical tutus. I absolutely adore a good ballet history trip, wouldn't you agree? This time it was the must see Royal Ballet in London, my birthplace (the Peak District - stunning!) back on the 13th February.
It was quite a journey by train – even back then I loved seeing how the landscape changed from city streets to countryside to finally arriving at the beautiful station. All the way to London just to see a tutu. Not that I need a reason, right?
Speaking of which, did you know the ballet tutu itself is a recent innovation? Imagine, all those years before that beautiful romantic swishing! Tutu history has some amazing stories: Before the Romantic period - around the middle of the nineteenth century - dancers would perform in dresses that, dare I say, were a little drab by today’s standards.
Can you picture a ballerinas swishing, oh, so stylishly, across the stage, but with layers and layers of fabric underneath – oh, what a drag! It really was all about hiding the legs to make the performance look “elegant” for the period. Not to be outdone by my favourite shade, back then, these ballet garments were usually black! How positively dull, if you ask me. But then…
Then came the big, pink shift! In the romantic era, dancers were embracing what the lovely, light material of tulle offered and designers started incorporating the much needed lightness in their designs! It changed everything, especially the dancing!
With that lighter material and a shorter, fitted design that focused on showing off a ballerina’s grace, we were able to watch legs and feet in action! I am definitely so grateful for this! Thank you for this gorgeous invention – if you can imagine trying to perform all those beautiful leaps, jetés and tour in layers of stiff fabric! It's no wonder they've created so many stunning steps that were only made possible through these changes.
The ballet at the Royal Ballet this February, called The Sleeping Beauty, was fantastic. This was the moment a famous ballet ballerina (she was a real star and I'd heard whispers of her on the train, people discussing how beautiful and graceful she was, and I must agree) had made a famous appearance, dancing the lead role. It had all the quintessential fairytale romance of pink tutus that we all love, and a very grand and very big stage pink tutu design (and some of the best very dramatic costumes) to boot!
I'm already excited for next week, when I'm visiting the New York City Ballet. I hear there is a gorgeous new pink production – it’s called Swan Lake and the choreography (I know it's a classical work and the Swan Lake story is lovely too!) - is supposedly very impressive. The costumes sound *completely fabulous! The new design for the ‘swan' dress is totally amazing, I hear, featuring lots and lots of light pink feathers - perfect for those lovely long legs (don't you just love it when a ballerina can make you forget all that hard work to focus on the artistic part?). I can't wait for next week's post to talk about how amazing the show was! I'm hoping the train gets me there quickly – especially as the performance is meant to feature lots of gorgeous very fast-paced footwork.
But before we move on to next week, I wanted to ask – what is your favourite ballet tutu style? Do you think this tutu looks romantic? Leave a comment! I’m really interested to hear your opinion.
And to continue our pink-themed tutu fun, be sure to look for me tomorrow wearing my latest pink-tutu ensemble and take inspiration for your Valentine's day outfits, darlings! You can never have too much pink and don't you dare shy away from all the beautiful tutu inspiration! Every day is #TutuTuesday in my world!
And until next Tuesday, remember to twirl often, darlings,
Emma! x
