Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
Hello darlings! It's your favourite tutu-tastic blogger, Emma, back with another intergalactic adventure!
This week, we're taking a little break from our usual spaceship shenanigans to dive into a truly terrestrial experience – ballet! Oh, yes, Planet Earth is still my home planet after all, and today, we're celebrating all things dance with a performance that has truly got my pink tutu twirling with excitement.
But first, let's do a little wardrobe chat.
It's February, darling! The air is still crisp with a touch of winter, but the sun is starting to show its face and whispers of spring are in the air. You know what that means? Time to update our tutu collection with something fabulously fresh! This week I've been browsing my favourite vintage stores, finding absolute gems amongst the pre-loved frocks.
I've snagged a delicate blush-coloured tulle number, perfect for springtime pirouettes, a striking black and crimson tutu for an evening performance, and even a delightfully fluffy, lilac ensemble for when the sun is out and the mood is whimsical. And of course, no outfit is complete without a fabulous, shimmering headband and a pair of those adorable fluffy ballerina shoes!
I know, I know, it sounds like a little slice of tutu heaven!
But now, let's return to Earth. The grand ballet event happening today, is something truly spectacular – it's a night dedicated to all things 'Tutu History'. I simply can't wait!
The programme features an exquisite ballet showcasing the evolution of the tutu, from its humble beginnings as simple skirts to its breathtakingly complex, and yes, fabulously fluffy forms today. It promises to be a whirlwind of beautiful music, jaw-dropping performances and of course, stunning costumes! It's a celebration of this iconic piece of ballet apparel that truly captivates everyone who sees it. I simply adore the way it swirls and flutters, it truly brings the dancers to life!
We are treated to several scenes depicting the evolution of the tutu. Imagine: A delightful dance featuring the simple, flowing skirts from the early days of ballet. Then a more complex choreography involving the layered and dramatic tutus of the Romantic period, followed by a playful piece showing the evolution of the short, twirly tutu, all the way to a heart-stopping finale featuring modern tutus in a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. Truly magnificent!
Now, let's not forget the heart of any good ballet event - the beautiful, delicate dancing! Every pirouette, jeté, and arabesque, every grand jeté, fouetté and pas de bourrée, is an artistic spectacle, filled with the elegance, poise, and artistry that only the best ballet dancers can embody.
Of course, I can't go to a ballet without having a peek at the backstage shenanigans. This time, I even met a fascinating costume designer, who shared fascinating stories about the process of creating a tutu! I'm telling you, it’s a truly laborious process, demanding a high degree of skill, passion, and attention to detail. Every tulle layer, every delicate stitch, every glittering embellishment tells a story – a story of dedication to crafting perfection for the ultimate performance. She also spoke with great passion about the delicate tulle and how she weaves together colours to enhance the performance. There was such love and pride in her words, and it's inspirational to see artists pouring so much heart and soul into their work. The woman truly knows her tulle, it's incredible!
As always, it's impossible for me to visit Planet Earth without doing a little fashion spree! This time, my search led me to a lovely antique store, bursting with delightful, whimsical vintage accessories. The perfect additions for any Pink Tutu World outfit! I couldn’t resist a couple of sparkling, feather boas (yes, you heard that right, sparkling, feather boas! Oh my!), and a couple of gloriously colourful vintage fans, which I'm going to use to practice my stage presence back on the spaceship! I might even incorporate them into a new Pink Tutu routine! Imagine me dancing with my sparkly boa and colourful fan… I'll post a tutu tutorial for my space followers next week!
While it’s wonderful to be back on Earth, exploring new fashions, enjoying cultural delights, and enjoying delicious local foods like afternoon tea and fish and chips, I have a few exciting projects lined up on my space blog for my intergalactic fans this week. You don't want to miss these exclusive snippets from the 'Tutu History' event, some insider scoops from my adventures behind the scenes, and of course, some dazzling new fashion suggestions, and some exciting news on upcoming space travel plans.
I hope to share some delightful and exciting snippets of my travel plans. For this month I am off on my third interstellar trip in as many months, this time travelling to the Orion Nebula. Now I don't want to spoil any surprises, but I hear they have the best intergalactic stores selling cosmic, glitter-covered tutus, perfect for the discerning stargazer who wishes to shine!
The next stop is the planet of Zylaria. There are stunning crystal tutus there. I can hardly wait.
Stay tuned, my dearest Pink Tutu friends, and always remember,
Life is meant to be danced in a pink tutu.
With lots of pink glitter and love,
Emma 💕
Website: www.pink-tutu.com
Instagram: @pinktutumaven
TikTok: @pinktutuworld
### Pink Tutu World: The Earth's tutu traditions - Episode 2.
The Tutu’s Tale:
Today on Pink Tutu World, I am delving into a special feature exploring tutu history on planet Earth.
In my blog post today, I told you a little about the Tutu History show that I visited, and now it's time for me to tell you about tutus through the ages.
The ‘Tutu' is an elegant and dramatic costume that forms the heart and soul of every ballerina’s costume and plays a fundamental role in dance history worldwide.
Today, we are taking a journey into the world of tutus. From the 1830s to the present, I want to tell you a little more about these whimsical and fabulously feminine outfits.
Here's the Tutu’s story…
* *1830s: A Tale of Two Romantics**
The *Romantics* of the 1830s gave the world a new, delicate ballet genre and a graceful, and importantly shorter, tutu. Before this, ballet costumes were rather voluminous! The idea for the shorter, elegant, and graceful *tutu* was conceived by the *ballet dancer Marie Taglioni*. She wanted to allow for movement in ballet that was as beautiful and as flowing as a flower blowing in a summer breeze.
The first tutu, for Marie, was called the *Romantic Tutu*. * Marie* *Taglioni*, ( pronounced *Tahl-yo-nee*) was known as one of the most exquisite * ballerinas* in the world at the time and it was important to have her outfit flowing and expressive! * Marie Taglioni* wore the new design in *La Sylphide*, the first romantic ballet set to music by the Scottish composer *Herman Lovenskjold*. This piece, and the tutu that accompanied it, made ballets famous worldwide.
Imagine this: a billowing cloud of layers of white tulle flowing around a ballerina's legs like a fluffy, delicate white feather, catching the light like a prism.
1870s- 1890s: Classical ballet and the Romantic Tutu*
Ballet in this era became highly refined and demanding, and the tutu grew with the times. The classical, romantic ballet * tutu* took centre stage during this period and it is still popular today. During the late Victorian era, ballet became increasingly more graceful, refined and athletic and the Romantic * tutu* took on a more fitted shape, designed to enhance the dancer's silhouette, to emphasize movement and the power of ballet .Early 20th century: * Ballet and the ‘Tutu Revolt
In the 1900s, the * tutu, which was previously quite fitted to the body started to develop again, and it returned to the *billowing, multilayered look, which allowed for more exaggerated and theatrical movements in the form of grand jeté ( big leap jumps in ballet) and the famous fouetté, which means whip or flicking movement.
This * tutu* had its moment of fame during the Diaghilev ballet era and in the works of Mikhail Fokine. It is described as an empire style. *
The tutu took on more volume as the century went on - by the 1940s, the * tutu* became very large and had even more layers than it had before!
*1950s -1970s: *Twentieth Century Ballet and The tutu: A more fitted affair? **
It is a funny thing this tutu! In this period, the tutu took a turn, again, and became more * fitted to the leg. *
This happened partly because ballet costumes moved with the times, and because ballet costumes, and particularly *tutus*, needed to be a lot lighter and more flexible for the powerful movements of ballets such as * Swan Lake*, and *Giselle*. They needed to move like the wind. This is why the tutu returned to a lighter, more comfortable form for performances such as the ‘*White Swan’*.Tutus of Today: The tutu of the 21st Century
Well this is a tale of two tutus:
Today, tutus are a lot more flexible, modern and are designed for modern dance, and new forms of ballet. As tutus evolved in the late 19th century to match new and innovative ballet styles the modern tutu is created for powerful, contemporary, and sometimes off-beat dancing styles, and this is how * ballet* has adapted with the times, so that we have the fabulous diversity in ballet that we see today.
This style tutu gives dancers more range of movement, and allows them to carry out powerful moves that the tutus of yesterday would not allow for.
The tutu today comes in so many different styles, from the traditional, romantic, and fitted tutu which has gone through so much transformation over the years to the more contemporary, multi-layered tutu for modern styles of ballet . The tutu will always have a special place in the hearts of dancers and ballet lovers across the globe.
Pink Tutu World will have more tutu adventures next week.
