Hello, my gorgeous twirling friends! Welcome back to another #TutuTuesday, this week on Pink-Tutu.com. It's post number 10023, which means we're on our 10,023rd trip through ballet history! This week I'm in Paris, the city of romance, art, and... of course... tutus! 🇫🇷
Tutu Tuesday's Time Travel Ticket: January 30th
I just know you’ll adore our stop on our ballet timeline! I’m popping back in time, through the mists of Parisian history, to January 30th! It's a Tuesday (because obviously!), so let’s make it a twirling celebration. We'll hop aboard a train, which I'm convinced, are always pink at the heart, even if they don't look it! 🚄
I know that all of you lovely ballet fans want to look glamorous on Tuesday, so make sure you've donned a pink tutu. Mine’s a lovely feather-trimmed number from a fabulous Parisian shop! 🎀
Today, though, I'm not only a time traveler but also a ballerina incognito! Yes, that's right. I've booked tickets to a ballet show, just for you lovely Pink-Tutu readers. Let’s peek in through a window in time at the Paris Opera House in this Parisian magical wonderland. It's such a historical masterpiece, full of beautiful details. I could imagine Marie Antoinette prancing around here in her own dazzling outfit, although I’m not sure I’d have wanted to be part of the French Revolution… ahem! 😬
This incredible theatre is overflowing with glamour. Imagine: velvet carpets, gilded pillars, and beautiful opera singers with incredible voices – a ballerina's dream! ✨ But let's focus on the heart of ballet - the dance itself! The choreography we are enjoying, was choreographed by Marius Petipa! He is considered the Godfather of Classical Ballet! This exquisite spectacle of artistry in motion is simply incredible, with dancers like Nijinsky showing off incredible moves – it truly is amazing. 🕺💃
Today’s time travel date with our Tutu Tuesday history reminds us that this fabulous form of dance is always evolving, but always beautiful and artistic. This year, there's so much incredible work that’s bringing new life to ballet, bringing more dance companies, more shows, more talent. I can’t wait to get back to London and attend some more! 🤩
But how do tutus actually relate to the Paris Opera, I hear you ask?!
Let's rewind our tutu-loving journey, my darlings! The evolution of the tutu, much like the graceful movements of ballet itself, is a captivating story. From those early ballet slippers to those gorgeous fluffy skirts that we adore, tutus have evolved with time, taking their inspiration from a myriad of influences, as you shall see! ✨
The History of the Tutu: A Twirling Time Line
Today I'm going to give you a whistlestop tour, and if you'd like to know more - just click those pink buttons down below. We're going to take a voyage of discovery right from the start, which as you know… all stories must begin! Let’s take a look! 🩰
The Birth of the Tutu (Late 1600s to early 1700s)
Picture it: Louis XIV and his court are mesmerized. Dancing in the heart of Paris. Ballet, the height of fashion! It all started with the French court dancers and the arrival of Marie Camargo (such an elegant and wonderful name, it rolls off the tongue!).
Marie did away with heavy skirts and introduced a much shorter skirt. Much lighter, more fluid and airy – I'm talking about the knee-length skirt! 💃 No longer were the women of ballet constrained by fabrics. They had freedom of movement - they could now show off those stunning techniques in graceful leaps and intricate pirouettes! Now the court really took note, because ballet moved to a whole new level.
*The First True Tutu: *
Fast forward about 150 years! 1839 a real fashion turning point: the era of the Romantic Ballet, as I mentioned before. Now, ballet and fashion were a glamorous partnership. They created a fashion that mirrored the themes in ballet! It's a time when fairy tales are taking the stage, such as Giselle - romanticism is taking ballet to another level.
Enter: The very first tutu! The very first Romantic Tutu had all the lovely design characteristics, which I adore!
They were quite long! - Reaching down to just above the ankle - this is perfect to give all those pirouettes a stunningly dramatic visual effect. Think romantic ballerina floating, with long billowing skirts - oh I am already imagining the twirling!! 🩰 The material? The tulle! - So light, soft and fluffy. It’s the material that every little girl has dreamt of wearing.
- They also wore a tight-fitting bodice* - and if you are on Instagram, a lot of amazing outfits take this design, so that the Tutu stands out from the dancers' figures!
Let me share a fashion secret: That year in Paris – the Romanticism Era, with a blend of both beauty and a sense of drama in the style, a fashion masterpiece took shape… the Romantic Tutu. We're back in Paris the Opera House and what do you see… tutus in a symphony of dance. Romantic ballet took the heart of the world by storm! 💖
The ‘Modern Tutu’ Takes Flight: (1880s and Onwards)
After our time in the Romantic Era, let's move into the early part of the 20th century! It’s still all about ballet, it’s a revolution. Ballet is becoming a popular art form - not only on the stage, it is a form that captures the heart. The tutu itself continues to grow with each decade, and what happens in the dance scene changes how ballet dancers wear them - a truly amazing style story! 💃
*It’s time to see our Tutu’s rise with fashion: *
- A new era was dawning with Marie Taglioni, the most famous Romantic Ballet ballerina. The Romantic Era, she embraced the freedom of the tutu's light and airy feel - giving the look of ethereal lightness. She changed ballet forever! The new modern era of dance needed the tutu! She took fashion from the romantic tutu to another level - The Shorter Tutu. **This new design showed a woman’s form with movement and flow in her leaps, jumps and incredible movement. I just adore the grace that every ballerina takes with the elegance of these short skirts – I need to start a short tutu campaign! 🩰
The ‘Package Skirt’, A Tutu by Any Other Name…: 1900-1920’s
Our ballet-tastic story moves onwards through time. This is a really interesting part as a ballet designer, you need to watch out for The Package Skirt, because this time period, this tutu design was almost the end of the tutu’s life! But like any wonderful classic piece of clothing…it’s just like denim…tutus came back and how! 👖
- The Package Skirt The very short skirt (remember, fashion is full of circle!). And ballet, fashion, was no different! They decided to make a move away from *Romantic Ballerinas with longer skirts and into more rigid tutus. The material, still made of layers of tulle, took on a form of a bell shape that fitted over a dancer’s dress and stood up all on it's own. These were popular, but not much like our tutus today. I do enjoy a lovely big, poufy and billowing tutu. 💖
The Tutu: The Height of Fashion! (1920s and onwards).
Let’s bring it up to date. It was the 1920s, the flappers era - such a cool and daring time. A new era that was on the cusp of change, it moved to fashion from loose lines and soft colors to more angular and graphic designs! This design influence was very strong in fashion. As you can imagine, ballet reflected these ideas and this meant, we've come to know the iconic modern tutu, we see this on the ballet stage - I just can't get over those magnificent designs and fabrics, a kaleidoscope of textures and patterns.
We've arrived in the modern day with tutus! From Romantic Ballet, we see tutus and fashion have developed together - in our modern day. I love to see how those historical tutus still feature on stage in every ballet. Our tutus have not only traveled through time. They have seen how dancers of every generation wear and have influenced the world of fashion – I even spotted some tutus on catwalks! What I want to know… have you been inspired to create a fabulous outfit!
TutuTuesday Takeaway! Let's summarise! So far, we've travelled back in time and have learnt how the history of the tutu is fascinating - a story of dance, creativity, design, and culture! I hope you have been enthralled, inspired by our adventures today. Every design is so interesting – and, they’re all gorgeous!
We’re not only admiring fashion! We’ve learnt about what inspires the designers! What an elegant mix of fashion and artistry! I’d love to know which tutu design is your favorite? 💖
Keep spreading those tutus around and I'll see you on #TutuTuesday next week with another trip in time. Bye for now my amazing readers,
Happy Tutu Time Travels and Twirling!
P.S Don't forget to check out our website www.pink-tutu.com for lots more fun content! ✨
Emma ❤️
