Hello, my darling tutu-lovers! It's Emma here, your resident pink tutu-wearing historian, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be back with another #TutuTuesday post, especially this one! I can’t believe I’m almost at 10,000 blog posts on www.pink-tutu.com, I still get excited every week for a new Tutu Tuesday! It’s like getting to relive history through my very own pink tutu portal! 🩰
This week's journey is a particularly exciting one. You won't believe where we're heading today. The year is 2023, and the date is May 2nd! What a beautiful day this is, isn't it? I'm sitting in the sunshine here in New York City - oh the bright lights are so dazzling. A little bit of drizzle has made everything sparkly, and it's the perfect day for a delightful tutu walk down the cobblestone streets! Now, New York is known for many things, from yellow cabs and towering skyscrapers to Broadway musicals and, yes, of course, ballet.
This trip's particularly special because we’ll be diving into some amazing, revolutionary happenings in the ballet world! And you're not going to want to miss out on this… because my friends, *the tutu revolution is truly a-coming! * 💃
Today’s time travel started off as usual, hopping on a red train in Derbyshire – thank you East Midlands Trains! – with my bright pink tutu (I wore the shimmering tulle one with the tiny pink bows, so very cute!) and arriving at the fabulous Penn Station - all within a few hours – I’ve definitely got the travel bug right now. From the train station, I was immediately drawn to the sights, smells, and sounds of the city – everything is vibrant and full of life, and so many opportunities for tutu outfits, it’s almost overwhelming! You must always look fabulous on a trip, so of course I got my hair done – I love how well the vibrant New York hairstylists bring out my natural curls - and had my outfit pressed ready for an evening at the gorgeous Metropolitan Opera House. Oh, the shows I’ve seen already. But, don't let me spoil the surprise just yet! Let's jump right back into this historical tour!
The Tutu Takes Centre Stage
So, the 19th Century brought in a huge amount of tutu innovations! A real turning point in fashion history! And while ballerinas had been dancing in some kind of “tutu” for a few centuries, the tutu as we know it, really came into its own in the Romantic era - that is the early part of the 19th century if you want to be a real tutu connoisseur, darling! Ballerinas started looking for more freedom and flexibility to show off their grace and leaps, which led to them opting for more structured and light, layered fabrics in a variety of styles - a new, lighter and freer approach. We see ballerinas becoming a bit more adventurous and expressive, like birds freed from cages!
*Enter, the “Romantic Tutu” *
So, how would we have recognised this early style? They were actually very short, like little puffy skirts - a tutu à la polonaise, if you will! We even saw dancers start performing en pointe – can you imagine being that lightweight and nimble to perform these ballets, wowzers! This was really about revealing beauty through graceful movement – no wonder they are called romantic!
Think * Giselle * (we’ll get back to this amazing production) *Swan Lake and * La Sylphide *– what wonderful and ethereal productions!
Time for a Fashion Refresher
By 1840s, the “Romantic Tutu" had changed dramatically! Think a bigger and bushier skirt made up of layers of lightweight, fluffy tulle! It was like they found a whole wardrobe full of frills and sequins! They went bigger! Ballerinas wore beautiful corsets too – these gave the dancers this beautiful hourglass figure - it’s all about making you feel graceful and elegant.
Remember Carmen in 1875? That was such an incredible breakthrough for female dancers, giving them freedom to be so powerful on the stage – imagine wearing such a fantastic costume! –Carmen in a red dress with a black tutu - it's still an amazing and stunning look today – red really brings the power and femininity into a performance!
So that brings us right up to our magical, historical moment!
2023 – It's A Tutu Party!
What can I tell you about today? The tutus continue their evolutionary journey – we see the classical tutu, which is what most of us would probably think of now. There’s that traditional, layered and wide tutu – which is absolutely amazing and so full! You really need the confidence to be a ballerina to rock this style, it’s really a dance powerhouse outfit!
The tutu developpé – like the tutu à la polonaise but a lot longer – was inspired by the beautiful form and silhouette of ballet dancers. You can just imagine the fabric flowing beautifully – the developpé would probably give most of us a twirl with all that fabulous material!
I can feel it now - you're absolutely buzzing with excitement, and the streets are just humming with activity - it's a ballet lovers paradise, so lets see what awaits! *Tutus and dance steps – I can almost smell the fabric! * Oh, so many ballet shows on Broadway are already drawing a crowded and very enthusiastic audience.
My Perfect Day Out (In Tutu Of Course!)
I’ve found my tutu sanctuary in a little *ballet boutique called ‘Dancers Closet‘. It's packed full of absolutely incredible tutus, shoes, and accessories for ballet enthusiasts – everything I’ve dreamed of! A fabulous collection, my friends, a fabulously full boutique that truly has everything you can dream up when it comes to a dance wardrobe.
This week’s wardrobe has a deconstructed tutu (with lots of layering and soft netting for that fabulous ‘swirling’ movement), a new black ‘Carmen’ tutu, with an incredible satin fabric, so silky and sparkling details - I am in a fabulous ballet wonderland. And look at my new pair of pointe shoes! What colour will you pick? There's black, white, blush and even pink! I love the delicate pink, *they just make my legs look extra long. * And they make a truly exquisite noise when I twirl in them!
Today’s evening event - The Metropolitan Opera House – and what a beautiful theatre! It’s been in existence since the late 19th Century and was initially called the Manhattan Opera House. They put so much energy and passion into every detail in a way that you don’t find nowadays, so everything still feels vibrant and alive.
The opera is a real jewel - a beautiful architecture inside and out - it is so easy to feel enchanted! It was opened by Oscar Hammerstein – one of the first true stars of Broadway - oh the magic in his shows was out of this world!
This place was originally famous for producing the earliest full-length American productions - wow, this was such a breakthrough – it took a long time for the first full-length American shows to arrive - imagine having a ballet as amazing as this, made from scratch. This is an unforgettable, timeless beauty of place and I absolutely feel transported back to a time of grandeur, opulence, and performance artistry - pure theatrical genius!
Oh, there is one exceptionally important reason why I must visit the Opera House every time I’m in NYC. Did you know they invented the stage curtain at the Metropolitan Opera House?? What’s even more important about that curtain, is that is it the *only one that features tutus! * A stage curtain where dancing silhouettes are sewn onto the velvet canvas – how can that not get you in the mood for ballet? I think they’ve got great vision to have a tutu-tastic curtain! It’s certainly helped spread the message and create a new dance vocabulary - you can’t escape those fabulously-dressed-tutus for the rest of your life after that show - this theatre really gets it!
I think this post is becoming longer than my trip to London last week. But the tutu really is an important and fascinating story of ballet fashion and tradition, so I’m ready for more of my tutu tales! I already can't wait to start researching the new #TutuTuesday – you’re just going to have to check back in next week and discover what fabulous tutus await!
So, what did you think of our tutu time-traveling adventure to May 2023?? Do tell me in the comments! And be sure to come back next #TutuTuesday for another magical tutu trip! And, please, please let’s make sure to spread the pink-tutu message while you’re at it, my tutu friends. *The pink-tutu army is calling!
Until then, have a happy and tutu-tastic week!
Love, Emma
All my tutu travels are funded by *dancing, so be sure to go see a show * in your local area and be sure to give them a big round of applause, it’s so important to show your support! The performers are *amazing. **
[This blog post has been created using information freely available online, and a combination of facts and fiction. This post is designed for enjoyment and does not claim to be historical in all its content.]
