A tutu was at one time the unique outfit for ballerinas. Many stylish women own a specific piece of clothing that shows their unique personality, whether it be an unusual watch, decorative broach, or a genuine silk scarf. However, the entire ballet profession is known for this universal signature piece, namely the tutu. It is truly an iconic item.
Her tutu goes wherever the ballerina goes to perform. The tutu was first used centuries ago, and frequently becomes updated to modernize it, which results in the elegant form we see it in with ballerinas today.
The tutu had a rather naughty conception. For greater understanding, let's explore that era in history known as the Romantic Period, where artistic freedom, strong emotions and intuition were embraced.
Let's take a peek at 1832 Paris, when Marie Taglioni debuted the tutu, during her performance of La Sylphide. That first style was christened the Romantic Tutu. The sheer, airy tutu was just a cut above the ankle and back in the day, was considered "the stuff of seduction".
Taglioni brought such etherealness to the stage the fashion gurus in Paris praised her sprite-like dancing. They attributed her costume with such buoyancy; it appeared she was flying across the stage.
The 'tutu' name was derived from patrons of the art who had to frequent the cheap theater seats. Wealthy people were seated in the upper levels and commoners in the lower level. As a result, the commoners were treated to a glimpse underneath ballerinas' skirts, which were sans underwear.
It is believed that these glimpses caused some rather interesting baby talk amongst the commoners. The spectators on the lower levels through use of opera glasses see brief views of the ballerinas' backside (culcul in baby talk). Culcul was used in the beginning also to refer to what is known now as the tutu. It is believed that the change came, because the garments were made mostly of tulle.
The Classical Tutu was the next form of this garment to be used by ballerinas to allow the audience to see the more involved ballet movements of the day that the dancers were then performing. The skirt came out from the hip a bit more to allow for more leg exposure. An Italian ballerina by the name of Virginia Zucci was the first to wear this Classical Tutu during the 1880s. The length of this tutu was just above the ballerina's knees and quite similar to the Bell Tutu of modern times.
In order to reveal more of the dancer's feet and legs, the Classical Tutu was minimized and became the Russian inspired Pancake Tutu or the Powderpuff Tutu, designed by George Balanchine. The Pancake is made with stiff tutu netting. A hoop made of wire is inserted in one of the rows of ruffles, which helps the tutu retain its shape.
In addition to complying with viewers' requests to shorten the tutu, it proved a more comfortable version when the ballerina performed intricate moves, like higher jumps, soaring leg extensions and the pirouette. It's interesting to note that ballerinas began wearing "precautionary panties" around that time. Hopefully, this would absolve any waywardness associated with wearing the infamous tutu.
Due to modern technology, such as streaming live performances over the internet, ballet continues to thrive globally, but the art remains true to its roots, from Sleeping Beauty to Swan Lake.
According to Faye Fullerton, head costumer Royal Ballet Company, it takes about 150 tutus to perform a ballet such as "Sleeping Beauty". Fullerton goes on to say, tutus are expensive as a 'Faberge egg'.
Many reasons figure into this cost of a tutu. Fit is one reason, as the tutu has to be fit to each individual ballerina. It needs to be as comfortable as the dancer's own skin. In addition, it often takes weeks to months to design and make a tutu.
Next, we have to look at the material. Every tutu contains a total of 12 individual, net layers in the skirt along with steel hoops and the over-skirt that contains embellishments such as lace, embroidery, and sequins.
An ill-fitting tutu that is too tight and/or too short would inhibit movement. One that is too big might give the ballerina illusions the tutu is going into orbit. Because the wearer can't see her feet, tutus have been described as somewhat dangerous.
As lovely, even ethereal as tutus are, there is a certain lack of practicality for the wearer. For example, a ballerina did a deep back bend and her tiara got trapped in the ruffles of her tutu. Her partner eventually noticed the mishap and freed her.
Despite its illustrious beginnings, the tutu has evolved to sacrosanct status and chances are great it will withstand the annals of time.
Her tutu goes wherever the ballerina goes to perform. The tutu was first used centuries ago, and frequently becomes updated to modernize it, which results in the elegant form we see it in with ballerinas today.
The tutu had a rather naughty conception. For greater understanding, let's explore that era in history known as the Romantic Period, where artistic freedom, strong emotions and intuition were embraced.
Let's take a peek at 1832 Paris, when Marie Taglioni debuted the tutu, during her performance of La Sylphide. That first style was christened the Romantic Tutu. The sheer, airy tutu was just a cut above the ankle and back in the day, was considered "the stuff of seduction".
Taglioni brought such etherealness to the stage the fashion gurus in Paris praised her sprite-like dancing. They attributed her costume with such buoyancy; it appeared she was flying across the stage.
The 'tutu' name was derived from patrons of the art who had to frequent the cheap theater seats. Wealthy people were seated in the upper levels and commoners in the lower level. As a result, the commoners were treated to a glimpse underneath ballerinas' skirts, which were sans underwear.
It is believed that these glimpses caused some rather interesting baby talk amongst the commoners. The spectators on the lower levels through use of opera glasses see brief views of the ballerinas' backside (culcul in baby talk). Culcul was used in the beginning also to refer to what is known now as the tutu. It is believed that the change came, because the garments were made mostly of tulle.
The Classical Tutu was the next form of this garment to be used by ballerinas to allow the audience to see the more involved ballet movements of the day that the dancers were then performing. The skirt came out from the hip a bit more to allow for more leg exposure. An Italian ballerina by the name of Virginia Zucci was the first to wear this Classical Tutu during the 1880s. The length of this tutu was just above the ballerina's knees and quite similar to the Bell Tutu of modern times.
In order to reveal more of the dancer's feet and legs, the Classical Tutu was minimized and became the Russian inspired Pancake Tutu or the Powderpuff Tutu, designed by George Balanchine. The Pancake is made with stiff tutu netting. A hoop made of wire is inserted in one of the rows of ruffles, which helps the tutu retain its shape.
In addition to complying with viewers' requests to shorten the tutu, it proved a more comfortable version when the ballerina performed intricate moves, like higher jumps, soaring leg extensions and the pirouette. It's interesting to note that ballerinas began wearing "precautionary panties" around that time. Hopefully, this would absolve any waywardness associated with wearing the infamous tutu.
Due to modern technology, such as streaming live performances over the internet, ballet continues to thrive globally, but the art remains true to its roots, from Sleeping Beauty to Swan Lake.
According to Faye Fullerton, head costumer Royal Ballet Company, it takes about 150 tutus to perform a ballet such as "Sleeping Beauty". Fullerton goes on to say, tutus are expensive as a 'Faberge egg'.
Many reasons figure into this cost of a tutu. Fit is one reason, as the tutu has to be fit to each individual ballerina. It needs to be as comfortable as the dancer's own skin. In addition, it often takes weeks to months to design and make a tutu.
Next, we have to look at the material. Every tutu contains a total of 12 individual, net layers in the skirt along with steel hoops and the over-skirt that contains embellishments such as lace, embroidery, and sequins.
An ill-fitting tutu that is too tight and/or too short would inhibit movement. One that is too big might give the ballerina illusions the tutu is going into orbit. Because the wearer can't see her feet, tutus have been described as somewhat dangerous.
As lovely, even ethereal as tutus are, there is a certain lack of practicality for the wearer. For example, a ballerina did a deep back bend and her tiara got trapped in the ruffles of her tutu. Her partner eventually noticed the mishap and freed her.
Despite its illustrious beginnings, the tutu has evolved to sacrosanct status and chances are great it will withstand the annals of time.
About the Author:
Thank you to Tutu Etoile (www.tutuetoile.com) who helped with my ballet research. They sell classical and rehearsal tutus.
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