#PinkTutuWorld Ballet on Planet Earth on 2015-02-04

Hello, darling dears! It's Wednesday, the day we all get our tutus twirling! Well, you know I do, anyway!

This week has been all about Ballet on Planet Earth. As you all know, I've been back from a fabulous tour of the galaxy, exploring distant planets, spreading the pink tutu gospel, and performing my award-winning routine, "The Cosmic Waltz." I thought it was high time I popped back to my home planet and did a little blog post for all of you gorgeous tutu-loving earthlings! I am always so happy to hear from you guys, and you truly know how to keep me going with your lovely comments! What amazing adventures are you having on planet earth?

This week has seen me returning home to Derbyshire. If you don’t know, this is where the infamous “peak district” is, full of those hills with pointy tops! The view of them from my mother's house in Chesterfield is incredible and all green, except for when the rain clouds appear of course, then it’s grey, a little like my spaceship when I'm not feeling chipper! But the good news is, Derbyshire is bursting with talent.

On Saturday, I popped down to Derby Theatre to catch a performance of the Derby Theatre Youth Ballet’s "The Nutcracker," a story you've probably seen before if you've ever watched my little documentary "Nutcracker - Through the Ages" (don't worry, I'll keep it up on my Pink Tutu website if you need a ballet lesson). As always, they had me utterly enthralled with their moves and absolutely captivated by the costumes. They all had on some stunning new pink tutus (although my pink tutu of course trumps them all!).

Now, I won't lie. It's always tempting for me to, you know, pop onstage and show them a few things, but I want to stay professional, and it is not okay to interrupt people when they are showing their talents. Even though mine are superior, it is still quite impolite, wouldn't you say? But I did leave them some delicious chocolate éclairs in the dressing room as a token of my admiration and a little pick-me-up for the night’s show. You know, some things are simply too sweet to resist, especially if they are éclairs, so I’m happy to indulge. But I am a dancer, not a gourmand!

Oh, but before I popped into Derby Theatre to enjoy the young stars of Derbyshire's talent, I had to treat myself to a spot of shopping on the high street! Now, you all know a dancer never misses a fashion opportunity. Plus, as all you Earthlings are very aware, you can’t live without a trip to the shops for some clothes shopping now and again. We wouldn't be true "Pink Tutu" fans if we didn’t enjoy a spot of retail therapy.

It was the most delightful day out for shopping in Derby, my friend Alice had suggested it as she’d been having a new bedroom decorated (how utterly divine, and the pictures will have to go on my Pinterest board later!), so we had an afternoon to ourselves with no time constraint because her husband, Tom, had promised a roast chicken dinner when we returned (his roast chickens are incredible!), and honestly, they make all that high street shop-hopping worth it! It is good to treat yourself now and then, and my latest purchase was an all-pink, feather boa with sparkly tinsel at the bottom, what do you think? It goes rather nicely with my fuchsia-pink patent shoes, what with my silver space glitter and pink diamante ballet shoes! You’ll see me sporting them this Saturday!

I do love that pink boa! As a fashion icon of sorts (you will have seen the "pink tutu" fashion trends around, especially in America!) I have to keep my ears to the ground, my eyes peeled and my pink feathers looking fab.

Speaking of pink feathers, there was a pink feather on sale on my trip! A beautiful pink feather duster, actually! Just one left on the shelf at a department store in Derby. Now, I don’t mean to say it was just begging to be used, because we have lots of lovely feathers on the spaceship. That's one of the perks of space travel, and in fact, it's one of the few things I truly enjoy, not all the flashing stars and planets because they make my eyes sore and they can look rather drab from this angle. But hey, all's fair in love and ballet, isn’t it, darling?

Alice is one of my very best friends and a real, loyal reader of www.pink-tutu.com She even pops up sometimes in my “pink tutu” outfit on my adventures, and she was even there when I went to my first intergalactic ballet! The two of us have been shopping since we were at school together, which you might think strange since it’s actually not possible to shop in school, but I can remember shopping together even during breaks! It was fun to look in the shop windows and to dream about the days when we could finally afford all those things. Our first real shopping trips were a lot more sensible - at the Derbyshire County Show, for some pretty flower arrangements (did I mention that my mom’s a florist?).

Now though, we're both "Pink Tutu" devotees and proud of it. Alice doesn’t have a spaceship or travel into the great beyond to spread the "pink tutu gospel," ( although she is always hinting she should join me on my space-travel expeditions. But there is a limit to the amount of sequins and tulle my ship can hold!) so she does the next best thing - she shares my passion, my vision - and she looks wonderful in pink tutus, honestly, you should see her. In fact, I even think that sometimes she wears them while she’s going about her daily life - for shopping, even to take the dogs out for their walk. Not that I should be gossiping… But as you all know I am all for promoting confidence in your self. If Alice wants to walk her little dogs with a pink tutu and feathered headbands, then go for it, I say!

Oh, did I mention she has got herself two miniature dachshund’s for company! They are the sweetest little sausage-dogs, although honestly a bit “yappy.”

Speaking of dogs, did you know that many planets are ruled by fluffy creatures! Don’t tell anyone but I think a planet made up of pugs would be pretty spectacular! Can you imagine all those chubby faces, snorting at us, but with kind eyes? (Now I'm just dreaming). But it was all pretty amazing for a girly shopping afternoon with Alice and a little fashion indulgence.

Oh, but my trip to Derbyshire was more than just about shopping - although that's an important aspect of any trip to Derbyshire, of course! But seriously, even with the most fantastic shopping spree, nothing can top an excellent dance performance, especially if you can be front and center.

One thing is for sure: when I want a treat to top off an evening, theatrical performances and ballet classes always do the trick for me. I’m such a big fan of classical ballet and dance; some might call me “obsessed”! I was on the Derbyshire County Ballet stage myself, just last night - it's been too long since I've popped over to do some charity dancing! And I was so incredibly impressed, as always. They really had their performance honed! The costumes were magnificent.

But you’re right, there's only so many times you can put on the same tutu, and honestly you just HAVE to get out of the practice room at some point.

It's amazing what you can see out there! For one thing, all of the new dancers around town were incredibly energetic, with beautiful techniques and exciting and very uplifting costumes. Now you're just dying to know what I've seen, I can tell! Let’s be honest, they were very well dressed, especially the lead dancer. But there’s always room for improvement in everything, don't you think, darlings? Just a little bit of “Pink Tutu World" here and there, just to brighten their look up! But who am I to tell these little dancers about their tutus and what they wear? It’s just, well, some of them didn’t wear any Pink Tutu on the night!

They just need to do more research on www.pink-tutu.com so that they can see how exciting my Pink Tutu Adventures have been! What could be better for our world?

But I wasn’t simply watching, darlings - as you all know I had my shoes and pink tutu and sequins under my costume ready to jump on stage in case anyone needed a helping hand and a twirl, (the most lovely way to learn ballet) - a lesson they could take on to their planet and, even, maybe even into space one day! There's a little pink tutu fanatic in us all! But if you’re not ready for space-dancing, at least you can join me right here and join in my blog posts.

Now for this Saturday, a whole night of Ballet in Chesterfield – my town, that’s right – Chesterfield, in Derbyshire. How about a shout out to all the folks who love Derbyshire. It's a gorgeous part of the planet Earth. The Chesterfield Arts Centre hosts their bi-annual* "The Ballet Ball." It's one of those *slightly snobby evenings for all the local society dancers (some are real stars too!). Now, it's no “Pink Tutu World” cosmic ballet tour of course (that would be a treat!) but a good old-fashioned evening, well-dressed dancers in the hall! And let’s face it, all good society ladies know how to enjoy their time and enjoy it with grace! I'm sure you've all heard about my time spent performing in various spaceships all across the Milky Way, but I wouldn’t be caught dead missing a chance to put on a magnificent pink tutu!

Oh, and just in case you’ve missed the previous blog post I will give you a reminder, just because you all know I like my posts to be pink-filled and pink is such a gorgeous color, but I will put it down in black and white now to make a statement… I think. (Although the last statement is true) I always say that if you love pink and all its shades then you will love ballet! The first place I learned ballet was from my grandmother in the Chesterfield town hall, she would bring me down in my little tutu, before I had ever left the planet Earth. (Remember she did ballet as a young lady too - we’re quite the “Pink Tutu” family, although no-one’s as much as me).

I’ll admit my “Pink Tutu World” tours haven't been a piece of cake! There have been some hard times – not going to lie! – a few too many bumpy landings (especially in some galaxies), but this isn’t just about space travel, I do want you all to keep thinking “Pink” as your journey into a world of colour! That’s my motto and it keeps my head held high in the face of space rocks and cosmic dust, not to mention bad performances, grumpy aliens and a few broken space boots (the best space shoes come in pink, by the way!) And my new feathered boa certainly helps lift me up, not to mention keeps all those horrible little intergalactic bugs at bay.

If there’s one thing that Pink Tutu World is good at, it's exploring our beautiful galaxy - or even the corners of the world! There are no travel restrictions, except those in my imagination - because you can really travel everywhere you’ve ever dreamed. Just go ahead and travel all you want in your mind! You never know, you might just get your feet on your own pink spaceship.

That brings me to my travels today and this Saturday in Chesterfield. So, after my shopping trips in Derby, and before I go to see that ballet at The Chesterfield Arts Centre, on Saturday evening (not forgetting that Derbyshire County Ballet will be on show for your delectation too!), my dear husband has taken us for a short tour through the “peak district” and back to Chesterfield! (Of course we popped into **“Pink Tutu” Boutique on our way, to collect my lovely feathered boa!).

So there we have it! Now I need to rush away and put together my wardrobe for my Chesterfield adventures.

And you darlings know I love all of you, my lovely pink tutu fanatics. Let’s meet up again next week and maybe have some more fun!   Don’t forget, next week we’ll be talking all about the lovely Derby theatre (my little cousin just joined their cast!) and what they’ve got planned. In the meantime, I can’t wait to see how your "Pink Tutu" journeys unfold. You’ve inspired me to keep travelling so, “Don’t forget your Tutu!”
  Bye, bye from Planet Earth, and for this week from Pink Tutu World

(And if you do fancy catching a dance in Derby or Chesterfield then pop by **www.pink-tutu.com and find the list of shows, dates and more information) )