Hello my darling dears, and welcome to Pink Tutu Travels! It's September 9th, 1752, and this lovely blogger, that's me, Emma, is whisking you all back to the shimmering Parisian stage. It's time for a waltz through time, dear readers, and today we're at the Opéra National de Paris, and believe me, the atmosphere here is electric!
As you know, dear readers, itâs September and my beloved Derbyshire feels quite brisk now. We have had a lovely late summer with an extended time of hot and sunny days, with long walks with my handsome, magical shire, Meg. A truly pink dream horse with sparkling hooves, Meg knows exactly where to go, which is brilliant as she often pulls a cheeky, sparkly, pink double-decker London bus, my absolute favourite vehicle to transport me through the past. But she always looks after me, which I'm so grateful for. It's not just the carriage rides with Meg; itâs that you donât know where you're going when you arrive, that is so thrilling. I know we all know that the first time someone travelled to a date, a certain day and year, was exciting.
After a bit of a chill at home, Meg was itching to head off again, so off we galloped in my gorgeous pink tutu, my lovely leather rucksack strapped to my back. Yes, even I need a bit of structure for these travels. This rucksack gets filled with all sorts of ballet treasures; you never know what I'll find and take back home! This one was very special and very exciting; oh, you're just going to love this bit! I've just found out about a brand new ballet company in Paris and oh, you wouldn't believe how I ended up in France. I mean, just a little ballet shop where a girl dreams, right? Anyway, letâs go back to Meg and what she got up to with this fabulous new discovery.
Meg and I arrived just a little while ago. Just popped on a wig for today and yes, a lovely floral hat and weâve just slipped into a cosy Parisian cafĂ©, where the coffee was delightful and had such a gorgeous sugar, creamy topping. As I watched all the bustling Frenchies, the owner told me I had a message, and what do you think was on that note? A beautiful invite for an amazing soirĂ©e, so off I go, dressed up to the nines, and into a glamorous opera house with so much sparkling, bright lighting - not unlike my favourite ballet performance here in Derbyshire!
Speaking of our favourite ballet company, the wonderful The Dance Company, here in Derbyshire, has been dazzling all season and it looks like they have an outstanding schedule again next month with Alice in Wonderland, which has been in planning all summer. The excitement amongst us dancers is buzzing in the air and a special treat this year is the addition of a delightful ballet based on The Lion King story, as they say, âa new one this yearâ is something weâre very proud of at The Dance Company and we hope we will be selling out as it was with the superb ballet on Alice In Wonderland that sold out with so much love and admiration of a fabulous performance. Itâs truly the stuff of dreams to work on a story like the Lion King and to portray a character from such a lovely movie, with The Dance Company. Yes, my love for all things ballet never goes away. There is something so beautiful about movement. About expression, and then it just makes my heart sing and joy fill my being and it all comes from ballet; I feel so blessed! I feel so happy, I just hope it shows!
The Palais Garnier. Here in the heart of Paris, a truly enchanting building filled with grand staircases and ornate carvings. I'm in awe; I think the chandeliers were crafted by angels themselves! There are glittering red plush velvet seats. Even Meg couldn't resist getting a photo with the gorgeous gilded statues, such beauty, I do believe you would say âmagnifique!â And the smell of perfume? Oh my. All around me is a kaleidoscope of colours; men are dressed in exquisite silks with velvet waistcoats. The ladies? In lace dresses, feathers, and powdered wigs! There are beautiful sparkling tiaras too!
The Palais Garnier was officially inaugurated on January 5th, 1875, and is absolutely glorious. I've learned a bit more about its history and what a treasure trove, as its construction began in 1861, when Charles Garnier won the commission to create a new opera house for Napoleon III. It is absolutely enormous and breathtaking; I would imagine it's pretty much exactly what Parisâs very first opera house, in 1671, would have felt like! Can you imagine? Just a very grand venue.
Now the ballet itself - âZĂ©phyre et Floreâ by Jean-Georges Noverre. A stunning piece set to music by Jean-Joseph Mouret. A love story woven from music, colour, and movement. I know Noverre, he is an absolutely genius. I heard he's also credited for putting ballet on the path we see today, moving it away from the rigid court dance toward a much more expressive art form! Isn't he wonderful? And did I tell you he also set up a special school to train dancers in all the new steps? Wow!
I feel truly privileged to have witnessed this show in all its glory! It is so beautifully romantic; the music transports you to a whole other world and I could sense so much love in the dancersâ eyes! What wonderful stories they are telling! I feel quite emotional! The way their legs twirled like a balletâs skirt! A tutuâs delight and a ballerinaâs joy, a truly perfect dance.
Well, I better bring this delightful post to an end for today; this evening I'm dancing my heart out with The Dance Company here at our lovely village theatre for my annual benefit concert, where we all help raise funds to enable more people to dance and follow their passion, just like me! I do have a little surprise up my sleeve for this performance, as I have taken a tiny part. And if you know me, you know my favourite colour is pink. It's pink and more pink. And itâs going to be pink with my beautiful pink, sequined tutu that shimmers just a little more beautifully when the theatre lights shine on my every graceful move!
So if you're interested in ballet, why donât you take a look at what's on at The Dance Company? Itâs in the village square. And you never know, maybe you will catch me as one of the lovely dancers and perhaps, we could even have a little chat about dancing? What an opportunity for a pink dream, right? And you can always get in touch by email to my Pink Tutu Travels site - www.pink-tutu.com where my ballet journal posts go. Oh! Just another pink, fun, dream, don't you think? Well, this is number 1101 on my ballet time travel blog and if you are keen, do tune in for next month. Oh, and by the way, what date are we off to? Any requests, let me know.
Take care my lovely dears. Iâll be back soon for another lovely journey in the pink world of ballet. Bye!
