Hiya my lovelies! It's your favourite pink-clad time traveller, Emma, here, back again with another whirlwind trip through ballet history! Buckle up your sparkly pointe shoes, grab your favourite tulle concoction (the pinker the better, of course!), and join me on a magical journey back toā¦well, letās just say itās a bit before your time!
2nd February, 2000: The Dawn of a New Millennium!
Gosh, I feel like a total grandma remembering what life was like before smartphones and instant everything! Back in the year 2000, I was just starting out on my tutu adventures, taking ballet class and swooning over performances of Swan Lake and the Nutcracker, just like all of you lot, probably. It was a truly exciting time - the year 2000 seemed like the beginning of anything and everything! And speaking of beginnings, this is the perfect moment to talk about those glorious days when the tutu first twirled its way onto the ballet scene!
The Romantic Era: Where Love and Ballet Collide
Fast forward to the 1800s, a time of great upheaval, great passion, and ahem great emphasis on romance! In the realm of dance, this is where we see the ballet tutu taking shape, ditching the stiff, formal bodices and heavy, restricting skirts of the past and evolving into something utterly fabulous and free. Picture long, flowing tulle skirts with graceful tiers, showcasing a lightness and freedom that matched the newfound emphasis on romantic storylines in ballet. It was a bit like a revolution in ballet fashion - and it wasn't just about how the dancers looked, it was about how they moved. The lightness and fluidity of the tutus allowed ballerinas to fly through their routines, evoking the feeling of weightless flight and magical enchantment. Think swirling ribbons of tulle, fluttering as the ballerinas leap and twirl. The ballerina, a mythical creature of grace and poise.
From the Court to the Stage:
Did you know that the earliest form of the ballet tutu actually came from courtly dress? Way back when, even men would wear ballet tutus in the court! And they werenāt all made of fancy tulle, but of heavy, richly embroidered silk. The first ever tutu? That would have been for a King to dance in! How fantastic is that? You just know the poor bloke probably had a devil of a time trying to get it on in the mornings! Can you imagine all those buckles and lace and heavy layers - and all those layers were so tight that you would practically need two footmen just to help the King go to the loo! Imagine if our favourite ballet stars of today, like Natalia Osipova, were wearing such outfits today? I donāt know if I could stomach another day of Swan Lake with such ridiculous costumes. Thankfully for everyone involved, times changed!
And the tutu went through several transformations!
I mean, let's face it, there's a lot more room for manoeuvre in the lightweight, wispy tulle, right? Just picture our graceful ballerinas soaring through the air in their billowing tulle gowns. That's how the ballet tutu started taking off and becoming the iconic dance garment it is today. It evolved to show off the movement of the legs and feet, showcasing their agility and strength.
The Tutu in a Whirlwind of Change
The evolution of the ballet tutu wasn't just about its shape, either! Imagine if our lovely dancers were forced to wear only the same boring black tutu, forever and a day? You can already hear the shrieks of discontent all over the world of dance, canāt you? Luckily for us all, the designers started getting creative and using new, fabulous fabrics and styles for each different ballet, just like our current obsession with creating a dazzling look for each new show. I canāt imagine trying to recreate one of the breathtaking looks that we see in The Sleeping Beauty nowadays in that basic black, plain jane tutus!
But the Changes Went Beyond Fashion
Itās all about expression in dance! Remember our romantic era and that need to make the ballerina a kind of supernatural figure, the stuff of legends? You see it reflected in the ballerina costumes that became more and more ornate and dazzling over the years, and of course, a few tutu shapes appeared to be quite different from others. The Romantic Era's iconic, sweeping, single-layered tutu eventually gave way to shorter, multi-layered tutus, perfect for showcasing those beautiful arabesques and grand jetĆ©s. Iām told these tutus have become much, much smaller and even more dazzling and flamboyant as time goes on - I think I saw one for Giselle that looked like a puff of sunshine on the stage. Imagine! All of these tutus and ballet costumes reflected different ballet styles, the history of a nation, and their different social mores, all woven into a single artistic creation!
A World of Pink - The Pink-Tutu Passion!
Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my favourite colour! If I were to travel back in time, what shade of tutu would I have picked for a special ballet performance? Why, a pink tutu of course! Imagine a ballerina dancing across the stage in a swirl of pink tulle. Itās almost enough to make you wish you could teleport back in time, just to catch a glimpse of it. Pink just has this *certain * something about it that takes your breath away - just look at how many designers use it for the most spectacular tutus, it just screams elegant and magical! But the thing about ballet, of course, is that every tutu has a unique story behind it and a part to play.
More Than Just A Pretty Dress - A Story On The Stage
Ballet is about more than just fancy clothes; it's a captivating world of movement, passion, and breathtaking stories. When you see a tutu, I want you to remember that there is a beautiful dance history behind it - centuries of amazing designs and dances waiting to be explored. Just as thereās a world of colours and patterns for dresses and costumes, there are centuries of styles, shapes and cuts of the tutu waiting to be discovered by you! Remember - there is no such thing as a āgoodā or a ābadā tutu! Each style had a particular moment and significance in balletās grand history. The tutu is as important to dance as the violin is to a violinist - both tell a story with its history and unique style, you see!
So next time you see a tutu swirling on the stage, think about how its journey in ballet history has gone from a stuffy, embroidered creation to the delightful confection that graces our ballet stages today! And please, for my sake, let it be pink!
Catch you all next Tutu Tuesday - until then, keep those tutus twirling and your hearts sparkling!
Emma
www.pink-tutu.com
#TutuTuesday
