Tutu Tuesday in Rutherglen: A Celebration of Dance and Style
Rutherglen, a quaint and charming town nestled in the heart of Scotland, became a hub of dance and fashion on Tuesday, as locals embraced the spirit of #TutuTuesday. Yes, you heard right, #TutuTuesday!
Let me be the first to say, it was fabulous.
And while a tutu might be thought of as a purely 'ballet' thing, I think it's safe to say that the lovely people of Rutherglen threw the rule book out of the window on this occasion.
What was, I think, especially fab was that Rutherglen’s embrace of #TutuTuesday was all about inclusion and celebrating diversity - a little something for everyone, if you like, and a chance to give their inner ballerina a little outing.
Walking along the high street on my way to The Arches (a fabulous independent shop which hosted a pop-up tea party and fashion show for the day) I spotted a rainbow of tutus - and I am not exaggerating - they were everywhere: pastel pinks, soft yellows, deep blues and dazzling purples.
On one chap, who looked as if he might be a grandfather, the tutu - I thought it was black silk, but I may have been wrong (so much to take in!) - seemed to have taken on an almost second skin vibe. It was almost as if it belonged. The others? They just absolutely rocked theirs!
My tutu was an absolute classic. The traditional romantic tutus which are the staples of classical ballet, these graceful and airy tutus feature multiple layers of tulle, flowing and delicate. Romantic tutus are also usually shorter, falling just above the knees - which makes them both elegant and easy to move in - I have to tell you, they really are fabulous for twirling! Mine was in that beautiful, light champagne colour, which - in the lovely light on a gloriously sunny Tuesday afternoon, just really added to the occasion, I think.
A friend of mine, and fellow dance enthusiast, Sophie - also went with a classic, but this time a ‘bell’ tutu, which were worn from about 1830, in the early Romantic period and are a really stunning - though quite large tutu with a shape reminiscent of a bell. Sophie looked beautiful in hers.
We decided to grab some pastries from The Loaf (fabulous, fabulously light and fluffy croissants with a decent filling and coffee - and also good strong tea) as we were headed into The Arches. On the corner we bumped into Fiona, she had chosen a black ‘flat’ tutu. This style is quite a common contemporary tutu which is quite a bit more forgiving in length and style - you often see the flat tutu worn in modern ballet.
But Rutherglen was all about pushing the boundaries - just as Fiona and a whole load of other super stylists did. One particular ‘Flat’ tutu really caught my eye - it was worn by a teenager, complete with a fabulous black sequined bodice which I reckon she found somewhere down in the vintage clothing shops at the bottom of the high street - an absolute knock out, I have to tell you.
It felt as if every age and shape embraced #TutuTuesday and were all about embracing that love for all things ballet (if just for the day!).
Of course, some tutu styles are more practical than others - I can’t speak too highly of how great my tutu felt in the shops, the cafes and - when it really got to it - even twirling around with the ‘Rutherglen Ballerinas’.
You may wonder what I mean by the 'Rutherglen Ballerinas'. It turns out the little kids just loved to have their photographs taken with ‘real ballerinas’ as one little boy told me when he had to reluctantly say goodbye to Sophie! - anyway, we decided that this might just be a little something that we could organise next year.
Now, when I first heard about this event, it all felt a bit much: just one giant celebration of ‘tutu’ I was thinking, and nothing more. How could an entire town commit to something as apparently trivial as an accessory. The beauty was how completely inclusive and un-self-conscious it all was, and a reminder that we sometimes over-think simple ideas.
For those who love dance, #TutuTuesday provided a wonderful excuse to embrace the beauty and artistry of the tutu. Whether you were performing a dance routine or simply wearing it with a coffee, there was no mistaking how fab everyone looked. It felt great to be able to simply enjoy a day that - in all honesty, at the very least, made me smile.
On the face of it, Rutherglen might be a little sleepy - just a little unassuming, in fact, but then, it turns out, just full of wonderful surprises, too.
One final thing, a small detail I did pick up: everyone’s shoes seemed to have come with the tutu look and what an array: I mean, they were everywhere and of every description! There was quite an obvious nod toward pointe shoes, so often associated with the ballerinas. My favourites (well, the most striking I guess) were these deep pink with glitter pointe shoes, and I can honestly say, with everything going on, that those two colours together absolutely owned the look, it just worked! The colour of pointe shoes are a big talking point, I know it’s an odd thing to consider, I mean - just look at my feet; when I am doing my little pirouettes - everyone just seems to notice and the style of pointe shoes I’ve chosen, of course, gets talked about!
I had my usual pair (a great classic black) - my everyday shoes and for ballet, but of course for #TutuTuesday it felt as though everything had just shifted. Anyway, all of that said, Rutherglen absolutely knocked it out of the park - what a fantastic example of ‘celebrating’ and not being afraid to take on a bit of a challenge and have fun.
For me, as a professional ballet dancer and a dance enthusiast, Rutherglen has to go on record for proving that #TutuTuesday, is a reminder that dance can bring joy to everyone. It’s all about celebrating life’s little things, about bringing people together and most of all having a good time.
Next stop for #TutuTuesday: The World.