Bonjour mes chéries! Emma here, your resident tutu aficionado, straight from the heart of Derbyshire and ready to transport you back to a time when ballet tutus were...well, a little different. Today's #TutuTuesday is extra special, because we're journeying into the early 19th century, where the foundations of the modern ballet tutu were being laid, right here in the heart of ballet's homeland – Paris.
The train journey was, as ever, pure bliss. The scenery whipping past, a gentle sway of the carriages...it all gets the creative juices flowing. It was particularly delightful seeing those magnificent, sweeping dresses in a muted rose pink adorning a couple of ladies travelling to the opera – it's just such a delightful, feminine hue, wouldn't you agree? Speaking of feminine, you wouldn't believe what awaits you today, dear readers! It's a veritable pink tulle whirlwind.
Now, picture this: it's the early 1800s. Ballet, oh, it was more than a little serious. Think stately moves, grand costumes...definitely not the frothy frills of our modern ballerinas. But there was one dancer, Marie Taglioni, a vision in shimmering white (much to my dismay! But don't worry, I'll be pinking up those early tutus, later on in the blog!), who challenged the norms. This lady, with the grace of a woodland nymph, just wasn't having it.
This was the golden age of Romanticism, a movement in the arts and, wouldn't you know it, this little ballet sensation, Taglioni, embodies the movement perfectly. Think romantic heroes, longing looks, and swooning music. Oh, and those flowing skirts that swept the stage and sent the audience into raptures? They just had to be changed.
Imagine a ballerina with the mobility to dance on air! That's what Taglioni, a real life, tutu-clad superwoman, delivered! Her choreographer, the brilliant Auguste Vestris, said to her "You're a woman, not a feather. A swan would fly too fast. The feathers wouldn’t make an impression!” And the "impression" they wanted? One of sheer lightness.
What did they do? Well, a dress that allowed freedom of movement was exactly what Taglioni and Vestris needed. Imagine an airy skirt, only to the calf, with wisps of tulle...ah, yes, tulle was the new kid on the block in the world of fashion, and in ballet it was a total game changer! She debuted this shorter, "tutu-esque" skirt in 1832 in "La Sylphide". Quelle triumph!
Suddenly, this airy, whimsical skirt became the height of fashion. And this, my dear tutus lovers, is where we started down the road to today's beautifully flowing and frankly quite fabulous ballet tutus.
This change didn't happen overnight. For years, skirts slowly got shorter. And those tutus, oh, they slowly gained the layers and frills we love so much today. By the mid-19th century, you had tutus becoming seriously airy, with a real emphasis on layering and structure. They were still more “flowing” than they are now but still beautiful and oh-so-inspiring.
So here we are in 2024, looking back to that game-changing day, way back in 1832, when the first true tutus, a symbol of airy, feminine grace, started making their mark. And what a mark it's been, eh? Those early tutus may have looked a tad more practical and a tad less fancy compared to our current wonders, but let's not forget – without them, our much-loved, ultra-whimsical modern tutus would be, well...pretty nonexistent!
Let's see what’s to come later in the blog, darlings.
I simply can't wait for next week's journey through ballet's sartorial history - don't forget to subscribe to my blog for more! Let's give those tutu-wearing superwomen a huge round of applause! I'm so ready for my tutu-themed shopping spree after this incredible trip! I hope my blog will inspire everyone to wear a pink tutu, but I’ll be posting that on www.pink-tutu.com tomorrow. But hey, do tag me in your most stylish, pink tutu selfies. Let's celebrate the grace and magic of ballet together. Happy Tutu Tuesday!
This date 2024-01-16, Today is Tuesday - The 16th day of the month, of course. What can be more perfect for Tutu Tuesday than the date that's a multiple of sixteen.
