HISTORY OF DANCEWEAR

ANATOMY OF A TUTU

IDA TOMSHINSKY

“In ballet a complicated story is impossible to tell…we can’t dance synonyms.”(George Balanchine)

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY OF THE TUTU

ANATOMY OF A TUTU

BALLET INSIGHTS AND TESTIMONIALS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I am not a dancer, but I love watching ballet. I think that when a ballerina is wearing a tutu skirt and ballet shoes she is graceful, attractive; and the aesthetic of the little couture dress made for any ballerina is absolutely spectacular, very impressive and even amazing. Say the word “ballerina,” and most people will picture her in tutu. Not to mention that to make a tutu takes handwork skills, and these special wardrobe pieces of dancewear are just stunning works of art!

Picture this, a little girl in a tutu, a short projected skirt, with a big dream in a glittery tale about a young ballerina. Whatis a tutu? What little girls’ dreams are made of? Every little princess needs a tutu skirt…to imagine, to dream big, and to reach for the stars.

Really, why little girls want to be ballerinas? Perhaps because of the tutus. The sparkly, lacy, fluffy costume is the main reason the most girls ages three to six desire to start creative movement and join the ballet classes. The little ballerinas love to twirl, and twirl, and twirl! Little girls are only young once,and the dazzling girl’s tutus let them run the imagination wild in their own little fairy tale land.

The teams of parents and passionate professional people dedicatedtheir lives to help kids to be real super heroes and ballerinas. Here is a famous opinion: “Anyone who has a child today should train him to be either a physicist or a ballet dancer. Then he’ll escape.” (W. H. Auden)

A new fashion trend has become popular for little girls’ play time, professional photography shoots, and even as a trendy outfit to wear out and about. It seems that tutus are not just for ballet anymore! And for good reason, tutus are so much fun towear and are just beautiful! I've seen girls of all ages (from infants to teenagers) sporting cute tutu skirts and dresses. The most popular type of tutu for little girls tends to be short, fluffy, and full worn with leggings or tights underneath. Older girls even choose to wear jeans under their trendy, hip tutus forgoing to concerts or clubs. During the holidays, many fashionablemoms will have tutu dresses for their daughters to wear. Red or green Christmas tutu domain waist dresses are popular, as well asred, white, and blue for Fourth of July tutu skirts. There seems to be a tutu skirt or dress appropriate for any occasion or holiday from play time to Sunday’s best dress. The tutu is one ofthe greatest costuming inventions that belong to ballet. It had been copied by moms and has been influenced designers and ready-to wear booming industry, but the backbone of the tutu is still an invention for the ballet and remains the creation of the Romantic age. Many people have an aspiration for such romanticism.

A recent February 2010 issue of In Touch Weekly magazine featured an article titled “These Little Darlings Just Want to Dance; It’sAll the Rage for Celeb Kids” stated that “tutus are the latest trend for babies and little girls to wear, and they are not just for ballet class anymore.” (Cary, 20110)

Oscar Wilde once said that fashion is “a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter in every six months.” It seems unlikely for the tutu, as its fabled history and beautiful complexities prevent the tututo go that road any time soon. In concrete historical fact, the beloved tutu silhouette persisted for more than a hundred years.

Although ballet has been around since the 15th century, it’s mostassociated icon, the tutu, has been not. It took time for it to develop into what it is known today.

In our days, clothing such as leotards and warm-up suits that areworn for dance practice and exercising considered to be called dancewear.

As the silhouette has been set, it is appreciated, and serves as a dancewear wonderfully. The development of the dancewear and dance costumes is in separated from the development of the dance discipline itself. The ballet gear includes not only the tutu andpointed shoes. The dancewear such as the leotards, tights, and leg warmers are the necessity for freedom of movement to perform simple elegant steps and dramatic athletic movement in general.

The types of dancing covered by the term dancewear include ballet, urban dance, and tap dancing. Dancewear items are also worn by other types of performer, such as acrobats, circus performers and some rock musicians. Certain types of dancewear have also become popular as fashion items with the general public.

Ballet shoes, also known as ballet slippers, are well known itemsof dancewear. Made specifically for the purpose to dance, they are soft to the touch and light in weight and color. They are in fact a precursor to point shoes, which are specially designed to allow the dancer to stand on their toes. Ballet shoes are worn bytrainee ballet dancers until their feet and toes are strong enough to allow them to stand en pointe meaning on the tips of their toes. Then they graduate to point shoes, which are also known as 'toe shoes.' Point shoes tend to be worn by female dancers for dancing on the tips of their toes. This type of dancing is one of the classic attractions of ballet and demands great skill and strength. Ballet shoes and tutus are symbols of ballerina’s life. Even ballet dancers are bound to gravity, they

direct themselves upwards, with the least possible contact to earth, almost as they are flying. Any ballerina would tell that the ballet shoes lasts for a week on the average. The high-edged art of looking easy and harmonious, in reality, is hard work; that would be the story of the ballerina’s shoes if they could talk.

While female dancers normally wear pointe shoes, male dancers usethis item of dancewear only occasionally, for specific roles. Tapshoes are worn for tap dancing which is a highly rhythmic and percussive dance form that originated in North America in the nineteenth century. These items of dancewear incorporate small metal plates in their heels and toes. These are used to make rhythmic tapping sounds on the dance floor. So in addition to being dance shoes, tap shoes are musical instruments like castanets or drums that are 'played' by the tap dancer.

Tights are a popular item of dancewear. They are a form of light,tight trouser that fits closely to the body and are made from thin, stretchable material. They are ideal for dancing for many reasons. They accentuate the legs, show the feet, and give freedom of movement. Tights are usually made of nylon, cotton or lycra, or blends of these materials. Tights can be footed, unfooted, or with a stirrup to keep them from rolling up the leg.

Legwarmers are like long footless socks made of wool-type fabric,and are used by dancers to keep their calf muscles warm and so avoid strain injuries to their muscles, ligaments and tendons. This is another item of dancewear that has become a fashion item with the general public. Young fashinistas loved so much as even find a way to wear them on the arms.

Leotards are one-piece items of clothing that cover the body but not the legs. Skin-tight and usually worn with tights, leotards can be long-sleeved, short-sleeved, or without sleeves. They were

made famous by a French acrobat of the same name who was born in 1839. Leotards are popular dancewear items, used both as practicegarments and performance costumes. Unitards are like leotards andtights combined. They cover the legs and sometimes the arms too. In addition to being a popular item of dancewear, unitards are also worn by rock stars, wrestlers, circus performers, gymnasts and acrobats.

And finally, the tutu is a skirt worn by ballerinas for ballet performances.

Tutus that stick out horizontally are known as 'pancake' tutus, and need to be carried in a special round bag to keep them in theircorrect shape. Other types of tutu can hang down, and these can be carried in normal clothes bags.

Dance has been an important part of ceremonies, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since the birth of human civilizations. The dance aesthetics as healing goes back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnical dances.

The dance is a language of expression. For example, the early Greeks made the art of dancing into expressive system of all the different forms of passion. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, ranked dancing with poetry, and said that certain dancers with rhythm applied to gesture, could express manners, passions, and actions.

Origins come from royal patronage and even the French revolution played important roles in the development of ballet and its dancewear. Ballet developed in the noble courts of Western Europe, first in Italy and, later, in France. In the beginning, it was a combination of professional acrobatics, folk dance, and aristocratic grace movements that had been seen in upper class Italian courts in the time of the renaissance.

Left: Dances of the Late Renaissance (16th century)

Since noblemen and noblewomen were expected to appear dignified and effortless in their movements, their dances demanded majesticgrace and an upright carriage.

Men and women clothing were not really suitable for dancing and allowed little possibilities for elaborate athletic body movement. Beside women in Europe did not dance in public performances, and did not perform in plays as a fact boys and men

performed in feminine roles in Shakespeare’s plays.

Louis XIV founded the Academic Royale de Danse in 1661 and instituted the first school for dancers at the Academia Royale de Musique, founded June 28, 1669 (later called the Opera.) Ballet moved from courtto stage, and the costumes changed accordingly.

As the popularity of dances grew, public performances in 17th century were proved to be a great success. But their lavish costumes, wigs, headpieces, and footwear were a problem for actual physical movement especially for women.

Women first performed publically in France in 1681. These women dancers began incorporate quick foot movements and multiple pirouettes into their dances. The whirling skits keep dancers’

legs modestly covered. The long skirts covered up the highly structured footwork.

On the left: Pietro Longhi, "La Lezione di Danza" (The Dancing Lesson), circa 1741, Venezia, Gallerie dell' Accademia.

The costumes worn by dancers were based on court dress, with tight corsets for women and short skirts for men. Because of the dancewear outfits, the male dancers dominated the stage. The close correlation between paintings and ballet was noted by the influential theorist and teacher Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), who encouraged choreographers to study painting in order to compose effective stage tableaux. He advocated natural expression over decorative aesthetics. Antique sculpture also informed ballet. In 1734, Marie Salle (c.1707-1756) mesmerized London audiences with her stage performance of the classic myth Pygmalion, in which she danced a character of a statue come to life. Marie Sally, shocked Parisian audiences by discarding underskirts.

The Baroque figurative arts favored symmetry, dynamics balance, and the harmony of the entire body. Contemporary social dances such as minuets were common for choreography of this time period.

Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) was one of the talented artists who disseminated the taste for fète-galante subjects in the eighteenth century. Lancret was often inspired by the stage and the female dancer. In the painting entitled “La Camargo Dancing” c. 1730 Lancret depicted Marie-Anne de Cupis de Camargo, a ballet star ofthe Paris Opera.

Camargo is dressed in a white gown embroidered with flowers in a graceful poise that mirrors the new ballet steps that encouragingactive footwork. To facilitate her movements, she shortened her skirts and may have been one of the first dancers to wear ballet slippers. The picture talented weaved figures and landscape creating idyllic setting of nature and the fantasy of the theatrein the rococo style.

As the story of dancewear goes, in early 18th century, Marie Camargo made history by shorten her skirts – just above the ankle. Her audience was shocked and in the same time her viewers could see and appreciate the dance footwork and dramatic complex jumps that she had developed. She introduced two innovations to ballet, changing from heeled shoes to slippers, and she was the first ballet-dancer to shorten the skirt to what afterwards became the regulation length. Beside, every new fashion bore her

name; her manner of doing her hair was copied by all at court; her shoemaker — she had a tiny foot — made his fortune.

The 18th century gave the beginning to a new phenomenon – the ballet company. The new concept resulted in professional approachto choreography and costuming on more liberating level for dancers to conduct a fuller use of the expressive capacity of thebody.

The first Costume Colloquium was held in Florence, Italy, and was atribute to Janet Arnold. This year, the organizers are presenting,

“Costume Colloquium II: Dress for Dance” (November 4-7, 2010)

The French revolution looked up to the democratic ideas of Greeceand Rome. Dancers began wearing simple and lightweight robes inspired by classical models. The greatest dance teacher of all times, Carlos Blasis, published a ground breaking technical manual for dance entitled the “Trait Elementaire et Pratique de la Danse” in 1820. The photography was not yet invented, and the manual included drawings. Blasis insisted that his female pupils

wear practicing outfits composed of a “bodice and skirt of white muslin, a black sash being worn around the waist.” For Carlos Blasis was important that dress of dancers is shaped and fit perfectly, the dancewear is not too tight, discomfit any dancer’smovements or attitudes. In the 1820s the Romantic Movement becameknown as Romanticism affected art, literature, music and dance. By 1830, ballet established itself as theatrical art and ballerinas ruled supreme.

The new image of ballerina changed. Female dancers wore calf-length, white bell-shaped tulle skirts. “The girls are bare-headed and décolleté; their arms are bare, the waist confined in a tight bodice. A very short, very bouffant skirt, made of net or striped muslin, reaches to the knees.” (Paris Opera report, 1844)

The bouffant skirts mentioned above were an early version of whatwe know today as a Romantic tutu. They are worn in such ballets as “La Sylphide” and “Giselle.” The puffy, multi-layered skirts reached well below the knee in the 1870s and are familiar to us from Edgar Degas’ art. Edgar Degas (1834-19017) immortalized the female dancers in his timeless sketches, paintings, and sculptures. Some of the Degas’ works displays particular poses inthe ballet repertory and demonstrated his comprehension of technique.

“The Dance Lesson” by Edgar Degas, 1876

Victorian sensibilities played on behalf of every elaborate dancewear. In 1890s, on stage and off stage in the rehearsal room, ballerinas wore relatively complicated outfits. The art and old photographs revealed “chemise tiedat waist with a little ribbon; then a little laced up tight corset; then cotton panties and long

cotton stockings fasted with suspenders and bloomers over them; then white batiste bodice, sleeveless, with ruffles around the neck and the double tarlatan skirts of the tutu. A neat sash around the waist completed the picture.”

Over the past 300 years of theatrical dance, there is always a close parallel between on stage and off stage rehearsal dancewear.

The bell-shaped Romantic dress in the mid-1800s led to the tutu skirt at the end of the 19th century. The leading dancer of the Romantic ballet was legendary Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) was an international sensation. Her seeming weightlessness and delicate grace expressed the ideal Romantic femininity and since that timereplaced masculine bravura and aesthetics of the ballet. Dance foot work, the pointe technique to perform dance on the tips of the toes and layers gauze skirt known as tutu in Romantic ballet,put ballerinas to the leading edge. Marie Taglioni was wearing the first Romantic tutu in La Sylphide in Paris in 1832. Taglioni’stutu was short enough to reveal her notorious footwork. Many of these Romantic Ballet stories told tales of conflict between man and nature, society and the supernatural. This era put the ballerina in center stage ‘floating” on the tips of a toe in forms of sylphs in La Syphide, wilis in Giselle, and the ghostly spirits that captured the hearts and senses of mortal men. Due tosupernatural influences, the second act that representing the spirit realm began to be called the “white act” or “ballet-blanc.” The ballet costume was an elegant white skirt made of layers upon layers of tulle (fine netting.) This white skit got aname of the Romantic tutu skirt. The ghostly vision, the gas light on stage, the posing en pointe and the use of wires made to believe the ballerina dancers “fly.”

Over time, the tutu grew shorter and shorter in length to reveal more of the intricate footwork that dancers performed. Over the next fifty years, the hemline crept higher and higher up the leg,until it looked more like today’s bell tutu. A softer, longer

style first was worn by the Italian ballerina Virginia Zucci in the 1880s. This first classical tutu style ended just above the ballerina’s knees. Later, the tutu shrunk even father to become the classic tutu, or pancake a like tutu, the final product of the tutu evolution. This type of tutu skirts that sticks outs outhorizontally from the hips, with a petticoat wire tacked in the layers to help maintain its shape and stiffness.

By the 1880s, however, the inventive energy of the ballet establishment in Paris had declined along with its popularity, while the enthusiastic patronage of the czars of Russia made Saint Petersburg a new capital of the dance world.

George Balanchine developed one fine category of tutu styles, known as ‘powerpuff’ tutu. It is similar to the classic tutu, butdoes not have hooping, and contains fewer layers of tulle, makingit softer and lighter than traditional ‘pancake’ tutu, allowing the elegant flowing on stage. Barbara Karinska, was a Russian born émigré and a trained seamstress, came to his rescue when sheoriginated the ‘powderpuff’ tutu in 1950 for his Symphony in C. She dresses more than seventy-five Balanchine productions. Of Barbara Karinska, George Balanchine said, “There is Shakespeare for literature and Karinska for costumes.” “While any comparison to Shakespeare is hyperbole, Karinska was certainly among the greatest costume designers of her generation.” (Toni Bentley) She was one of Balanchine’s closest collaborators and her Broadway and Hollywood career flourished, but her heart belonged to dance, especially to New York City Ballet and Balanchine. Among others, she worked with Agnes de Mille, Bronislava Nijinska, Jerome Robbins, Louis Jouvet, Franco Zeffirelli, Mike Todd, Victor Fleming, and George Cucor. One of her highest moments of her career was the remounting of the principal tutu from colorful story ballet, Firebird, in 1970 for New York City Ballet based on watercolor designs by Chagall. Barbara Karinska had the talent to take a “row” sketch made by artist such as Noguchi, Dali, Chagall, etc. and literally, turned

them into costumes. Since she emigrated from Russia to the West, she worked in Paris, Monte Carlo, London, Hollywood, and, finally, Manhattan in 1949. Barbara Karinska is an important person in history of costume timeline of the last century: a professional woman who “dressed” so many stars from Gypsy Rose lee to Laurence Olivier. At the present time, these wonderful costumes housed in the basement of Lincoln Center in the wardrobedepartment of New York City Ballet, Karinska’s surviving handiwork totals about 9,000 costumes.

Bejeweled costumes of silk and satin from legendary New York CityBallet costume designer Barbara Karinska was on display at Hattie’s Mardi Gras celebration on January 19 2013 at Canfield Casino. The Hattie’s celebration, an annual fundraising event hosted by the restaurant’s owners Jasper and Beth Alexander to benefit Saratoga Performing Arts Center and its NYCB residency. Among the costumes on display were Balanchine’s ballet signature pieces such as Jewels, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Firebird. “Karinska is an icon in both the costume and dance world,” – said Marcia J. White, Presidentand Executive Director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Connoisseurs of ballet, the Russians, wanted to see the new technical acts and fancy footwork of their ballerinas. Since the Ballets Russes began revolutionizing ballet in the early 20th century, there have been continued attempts to break the mold of classic ballet.

The new long, floppy, sixteen-layer tutus reached to the knee andallowed the female dancers’ better mobility in technically demanding ballets such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, the Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker. Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and Lev Ivanov (1834-1901) adapted dramatic situations, social and national dances, as well as Romantic themes that featured ensembles of snowflakes and swan-maidens.

The freedom and fire of the Ballets Russes flabbergasted the Westwhen Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) brought his cast to Paris in 1909 for ten years period until his death. The choreography of Michael Fokine, Vaslav Nejinsky, and George Balanchine, music of Stravinsky, Poulenc, and Prokofiev, and stage sets and costume designs of Leon Bakst, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, among others integrated the ballet impact to the world.

And later, George Balanchine’s athletic choreography initiated the creation of the shorter “powder-puff” tutu that was worn in Symphony in C. These tutus allow the entire leg to be seen.

Without a doubt, the tutu has a past full of fascinated stories. The word ‘tutu’ found its origins in the theatre audience. Peoplewith the cheaper tickets sat in a section located in the lower part of the theatre. This area gave the theater’s visitors a different view of the stage and the ballet as they often could see under the ballerina’s skirts. “Tutu” refers to the area seen under ballerinas’ skirts. The French baby talk for cul-cul or “cucu” roughly means “botty-wotty” for bottom. The etymology of tutu is an altered form of cucu, infantile reduplication of cul “bottom, backside.” (D. Harper, 2010)

It is also known that ‘tutu’ in Hawaii means talking about someone’s grandmother; in New Zealand it is a poisonous plant, Tutu de Feijăo is a paste made of beans and manioc flour in Brazil!

A tutu is a true couture dress made for a ballerina. The principal dancers will have bespoke tutus that have been body-shaped and fit. The handmade tutus are made in a very clever way with several rows of chromed (to prevent rusting) hooks and bars.Most people think of a tutu as a whole dress, but in reality it is just layers around the waist. The bodice is separate and both are made by specialists for professional ballerinas. The first net includes strips of varying stiffness. The softest layers will

be placed close to the legs, the very stiff layers will go in middle, the top layer will be somewhere between the two. Of course, the all layers are stitched together, by hand, to ensure they are all move together.

Around the world, the number of layers requested varies between companies. A tutu is usually made with 10-12 net layers in San Francisco, between 7 to 10 layers in Italy, and in Paris are always thirteen layers. A crinoline (steel) wire is used to make a firm hoop in one of the stiff layers, which helps to retain theflat shape. The top layer is heavy because the top of the tutu covered with various embellishments: feathers, jewels, lace and appliqué. It is not a surprise to know that tutus for professional ballerinas made almost exclusively by men as it is required hard, physical work. There are only few of them in the world, and due to an anonymous ballerina confession the “tutu makers are a critically endangered species.” The tutu making is askill, and there are not so many people who knows the trade and “you cannot find people with the skills in London.” (Rosamund Urwin)

Once the tutu has been made, at least two fittings usually take place. The measurements are very important, especially the heightof a dancer and the length of the back from neck to waist. By thetime the tutu will be ready for fitting in the net layers, it will be pinned, stitched, undone and re-stitched several times until it fits like a glove. As usual, ballerinas are practice wearing the tutus for the balance and legs movement to arabesque before performing on stage. “Tutus can be the enemy of male dancer,” – said Sabi Varga, soloist of Boston Ballet. The tutus cut the ballerina on half and block the view from waist down. By practicing in the studio with ballerinas in tutu, the male balletdancer can feel the ballerina’s weight and balance of the pas de deux. After all, the tutu and the ballet shoes are the “classic and essential element” of any classic ballet.

The feathers for Swan Lake come from cockerels. Cockerels produce around fifteen long and flat feathers per tail. The feathers could be cut to any length, making them very resourceful. The swan feathers are never used for two reasons – they are too largeand swans are protected by a Wildlife Act of 1981. For example, in United Kingdom it is illegal to take the wild birds or their eggs from nests.

During the Bird Flu outbreak in South East Asia in 2003, the supply of feathers was endangered. Most of the feathers are coming from China, South Africa, Poland, Turkey and Israel, countries that consumed a lot of chicken and have feather export as a by-product.

There is no magical all-purpose one-size-fits-all netting length in the world of couture costume making. To make a classical tutu,there are many considerations in mind: such as the character rolein performance, the desired mood or emotion of the character in the role, creating the choice of colors and embellishment due to drama of theatrical stage set, individual measurement of the dancer, performance deadline, budget considerations, and many more things have to be figured out before the tulle and netting ever sees the scissors.

“To be creative means to be in love with live. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” (Oslo)

Dancers and their theatrical peers are masters of the art of fantasy and characterization. In order to be successful at their crafts, a dancer must create a believable character that leaves their audiences silently agree to believe the unbelievable.

“Without these unspoken agreements, there could be no theater; with these agreements, all theaters become magic places where time shifts and identity is transformed.” (Haunted Theaters by Barbara Smith, 2002)

This “unspoken agreement” helped transmit the rich history of superstition and rituals amongst performers throughout the ages.

“Ballet is the one form of theater where nobody speaks a foolish word all evening nobody on the stage at least.” (Edwin Denby)

“Ballet is a dance executed by the human soul.” (Alexander Pushkin)

“Ballet is a hidden language of the soul.” (Martha Graham)

What is the human spirit and how does it differ from the soul? The soul is our thoughts, emotions, and experiences –the things that anticipate our body and mind. The spirit is the soul as the soul is to the body. Ballet dancers have this unspeakable abilityto transfer human soul experiences on stage settings to communicate the story throughout ballet movements and music that goes along with.

Haunting and superstitious beliefs attached to the theatre originated in the continental cities of Europe where the ballet developments predominated. Surprisingly, even in the modern times, theatres tend to have an overabundance of superstitions and ghost stories.

According to tradition, lights are on in an empty theater. The light either protects against the ghost or provides the light to see for the ghosts, nobody wants to anger the ghosts to make pranks or other mishaps. Unbelievably, it is considered bad luck if rehearsal goes smoothly or to speak the last line of the play before Opening night. It is forbidden to whistle anywhere inside the theatre, especially in or near the dressing room. People never wish an actor or dancer a “good luck” before performance, instead people say “break a leg,” which is symbolic of “taking a bow” at the end of a worthy performance, and wish a dancer, pardon my language, “merde.” Merde is actually French slang for “dung.” Before the invention of cars, Parisian streets were filled with horse-drawn carriages and plenty of horse dung.The dancers who tried to make the way to the theatre would caution one another to “not step in the merde.” At those times, people

and their horses rushed to attend the theatre; and the “merde” outside the theatre considered a good thing. Dancer stated to wish one another “merde” before going on stage as a way to say “watch your steps.”

Whether one believe or not in ghosts, many dancers have their unique rituals and good luck charms – whispering a prayer, exit the dressing room left-foot-first, or wear a certain perfume. Allthe superstitions tales are adding to the theater’s allure and mystique. “Merde” to all dancers, their fans and readers of this book!

In recent years historians recognize the popularization of “high”culture in the United States in the post World War II era. The dissemination of ballet in United States via television, film andtheatre brought the apprising of regional ballet schools, companies, and festivals in the 1940s and 1950s and reveals that ballet reached a diverse, national audience. Tours of international companies, including the Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet, the Danish Ballet, and the Ballets Russes, successfully toured the United States and brought ballet to audiences in cities ranging from Boston, Massachusetts to Tulsa, Oklahoma. In American culture ballerinas symbolize feminine graceand major influence on contemporary fashion. Ballet in America stands for good taste and indicates middle and upper class accomplishments in arts. The Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn, a trained ballerina, rose to fame. Americans saw ballet dancing everywhere and quickly became common for little girls to dream ofcareers as ballerinas. Americans view ballet as acceptable pastime for women, and even encourage their daughters, sisters, and friends to study ballet.

There are many famous American ballerinas inspiring the new generation of ballet dancers; Isadora Duncan, Twyla Tharp, MarthaGraham…

“So many dancers leave me untouched, unmoved. A dancer should be able to raise an arm and make someone cry…in the way Isadora Duncan did. It is a necessity for any artto move you.” (Pauline Koner)

Most ballerinas love their tutus, as tutu is the quintessential ballerina costume! However, sometimes, the tutu could be uncomfortable and restrictive. For the partners too, the tutu presents challenges. The most decorations on the top of the tutu must leave room on the waistline to give the partner a safe placeto hold the ballerina without damaging his hands and face in the process of the choreography.

The story of the garment maybe tacky, but the tutu chic and elegance is bigger than ever in modern days. The 2001 Academy Awards recipient, singing star Björk, caused a sensation by appearing in a white tulle dress with swan’s head wrapped around her neck. Christian Lacroix, famous fashion designer, continues to create haute couture balletic frocks of organza and tulle. Collectors are paying astonishing amount of money for ballet wearas a sum of $94,800 was paid for Leslie Hurry’s tutu designed forMargot Fonteyn worn in “Swan Lake.”

“With up to nine supportive layers, each cut progressively wider, and the tenth decorative top layer the finished classical tutu is often ornamented with sequins, beads, or faux jewels. All done by hand, the costume can easily cost $5,000, with less fancy ones available from $1,500.” (Victoria Looseleaf)

People want to see tutus, feminine costumes and most importantly,graceful movements. Perhaps because of the females ballet costumes every little girl dreams about their tiaras and tutus. “The ballet is a purely female thing. It is a woman, a garden of beautiful flowers, and men is the gardener.” (George Balanchine)

The ballet fashion trends influence not only little girls but also ordinary people wear ballet tutu to casual or evening parties. The ballet skirts help to create that super-trendy

ultra-feminine look combining a black tank top and a white tutu skirt or a leather jacket with a ballet skirt. And of course, some fashinistas believe the sky is the limit. So many followers want to re-create Natalie Portman’s ‘Black Swan’ look to transform into a fresh-faced Odette to an Oscar-worthy Odile in minutes with a black tutu and a tiara!

Black Swanhild is a 2010 American psychological thriller and horrorfilm directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious NewYork City company. Main characters Nina played innocent and fragile White Swan by Portman and new arrival Lily played dark and sensual Black Swan by Kumis. A lesbian make-out scene caused quite a lot of excitement, and the off screen romance between leading roles satiated the tabloids. Costume designer Amy Westcott was created for the costume designs and received severalaward nominations. The controversial story arose around the fortyballet costumes designed for Portman, Kumis and other dancers. The article in the British newspaper The Independent suggested thosecostumes had actually been created by Rotate Kate and Laura McLeay. Westcott challenged that view and stated that in all onlyseven costumes, among them the black swan and white swan, had been created in collaboration between Rodarte, Westcott, and Aronofsky. The corps ballet’s costumes were designed by Zack Brown for American Ballet Theatre, and slightly adopted by Westcott and her costume design department. “Controversy is too complimentary a word for two people using their considerable self-publicizing resources to loudly complain about their credit once realized how good the film is.” (Amy Westcott)

Again, the exquisite, fragile lightness of the black costumes spoke loud to women and girls and the fashion designers such as Chloe, Lavin and Chanel presented their fashion brands on the runways. Oscar de la Rental even had a tutu-inspired ball gown

with a skirt made of swan down in his Spring/Summer 2001 collection. No wonder, the current shows features more ‘floaty’ skirts, ballet flats and feather embellishments.

Hollywood has played a significant role in popularization of the ballet outfit. Many fashion experts would agree that Sara JessicaParker successfully introduced to the fashion world the ballet inspired garments. Carrie Bradshaw changed the game of fashion: she made a fashion statement by working in a tutu in Times Squareand put Manolo Blahnik shoes on the map of fashion. The famous tutu set the tone Carrie’s always unexpected style when she picked a tutu and tank look described as “quirky” for “Sex and the City” series’ opening. Who wants a tutu – not for dancing – but for fashion, many would point to Sara Jessica Parker at the reason behind their sudden urge for ballet inspired attire. American actresses Nia Long and Lindsey Lohan had been seen in the same dress designed by Jill Stuart consisted of a white bodice and a short black ballet tutu. American singer and actressJennifer Lopez was dressed in a light pink Marchesa tutu dress ata Fox party. Katy Perry is well-known for her love for ballet inspired outfits both on stage and in daily life.

Recently the most well-known fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Allure, and Harper’s Bazaar have been covering feminine styles for skirts and dresses, and the ballet tutu build in some fashion collections in good taste and style: from Jean Paul Gautier’s Rock’n’ Roll style to Chanel’s Avant-garde style. Karl Lagerfeld has designed an exclusive ballet outfit for ‘The Dying Swan’ as part of 2009 season of Ballet Ruses held in London. Stunning running ensembles featuring ballet tutu were made by fashion houses of Dior, Jill Stuart, Marches, and Ramie Kasha.

“The dance is a mother of the arts. Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at once in time and space.” (Curt Sachs)

The inspiration for high jewelry collection ‘Ballet Prècieux’ came from collaboration between Claude Arpels and the renowned choreographer George Balanchine, which gave rise to the ballet Jewels in 1967 and memorizing the ballet movements ‘in time and space.’ This ballet is a simple ode to femininity; the ballet is dedicated to three exceptional gemstones and three different styles of ballet: emeralds with Faurè, rubies with Stravinsky, and diamonds with Tchaikovsky. In 2207, to commemorate the ballet’s forties anniversary, the London Royal Ballet performed Jewels at the Royal Opera House in London. Van Cleef & Arpels tookpart in the celebration by creating the ‘Ballet Prècieux’ high jewelry collection. The Sylvia clip, set with pavè diamonds, reveals the beauty and elegance of the ballerina’s leg. The dancer id gracefully posed en pointe with her tutu echoing the pose, ready to perform the next ballet step. The light and graceful tutu in Gloria clip is a reminiscent of a rose in full bloom. The tutu dress’s ruby petals appear to move and flow and recreate the twirl of the dance with talented jewelry craft. Inspired by the first act featuring the Emerald of the Royal Opera House performance of Balanchine’s ballet, the Héloïse clip demonstrates frozen in time the ballerina’s gracefully spreading of the emerald tutu in technical ballet prowess. Beside the emeralds, the airy tulle skirt, tiara, bodice and ballets shoes resplendent with diamonds.

For little girls, dancers and non-dancers, ballerina music boxes are a staple of a childhood dresser. Many little girls desire to have a pretty pink ballerina. By looking at one, they can dream about being able to be a little dancer or a little girl who likesto look pretty and likes pink. The musical ballet boxes for them are both old charm and attraction.

The traditional music boxes with ballerinas inside of them (that twirl when the music starts playing in one of the most basic ballet positions) are often pink or white and have ballet shoes

and ballerinas painted on the outside of the box. The sound quality is nothing to write as does not detract whatsoever from their charm in the eyes of young girls. Whether the box plays a tune from Mozart or a number from Giselle, girls just adore theselittle music boxes. There are plenty of makers who make several different types of modern music boxes for young ballerinas, the little girls in tutus. The main point is, girls can dance away bylistening to their favorite tunes and wear the tutu in the same time.

“I wanted so badly to study ballet, but it was really all about wearing the tutu.” (ElleMacpherson, Australian model and actress, b. 1964 –)

The tutu comes in many shapes, weights and fabrics. The full circle silhouette is a technical wonder, and modern time’s tutu has secret supports and hidden seams. The design and constructionof the tutu depends on really brilliant costumers that know the “anatomy” of the body of dancewear. The tutu must be beautiful asthe craft of ballet, and yet durable. The tutu must fit like a glove, and carry out a full range of freedom of movement. All tutus are individually designed so that no two costumes are alike. Fine quality and custom made dance costume design and construction techniques are made from three major elements: bodice, the Basque, and the skirt.

A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It consists of a waistband or a basque, and the skirt itself made from a single layer, hanging down or multiple layers starched and jutting out. There are various types of tutus: romantic tutus, classic tutus (‘pancake’ style), classical tutus called ‘bell,’ Balanchine/Karinska tutus,and platter tutus.

Romantic Tutu: A three-quarter length, bell-shaped skirt made of tulle. The hemline falls between the knee and the ankle. The romantic tutu is free flowing to emphasize

lightness, to suit the ethereal quality of the romantic ballets such as Giselle or La Sylphide. It is said to have been invented, or at least popularized, by Marie Taglioni, first in 1832 in La Sylphide. There are two types of romantic tutus-one that starts at the waist and one with a dropped waist and basque called a romantic tutu with basque.

Classical Tutu (pancake): A very short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting that extends straight outwards (from the hips) in a flat pancake shape, and has a fitted bodice. The pancake style has more layers of net and usually uses a wire hoop and much hand tacking to keep the layers flat and stiff.

Classical Tutu (bell): A very short, stiff skirt with a slight bell shape, it is usually longer than a classical (pancake) tutu. It is made with layers of netting and has a fitted bodice; it extends outwards from the hips and does not use a wired hoop. These can be seen in the famous balletpaintings by Degas.

Balanchine/Karinska Tutu: also known as the "powder puff", it is a very short skirt with no hoops, and fewer layers of netting than the pancake or classical styles. The skirt is loosely tacked to give a softer, fuller appearance. This style was designed originally for the ballet version of Balanchine’s Symphony in C.

Platter Tutu: A tutu with a flat top that sticks straight out from the ballerina's waistline. It is very similar to the pancake tutu, though the top of the tutu is almost completely flat, where the pancake tutu is a bit fuller at the top.

Whatever type or style the tutu is made of, when you put on the ballerina’s tutu on “you translate paint to fabric, somebody gets into it and the ballet begins.” (Alain Vais)

The title of Prima Ballerina is given to a ballet’s leading ballerina. Equivalent to the French ‘Danseure Etoile,’ it is the highest position a ballerina can achieve. The title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta is a very rare honor given to exceptionally talented ballerinas since the 20th Century. Among the best hundred ballerinas stand out the names of Isadora Duncan (1877), Olga Khokhlova (1891), Anna Pavlova (1881), Martha Graham (1894, Josephine Baker (1906), Galina Ulanova (1910), Olga Lepeshinskaya(1916), Alicia Alonso (1920), Pati Behrs (1922) Maya Plisetskaya (1925), Gelsey Kirkland (1952) and many more. Ballerinas such as Nina Ananiashvili, Altynai Asylmuratova, Alina Cojocaru, ViengsayValdes continue to “deliver lovingly, with gusto.”

Quick Ballet Facts: Anna Pavlova was born on February 12, 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia. After attending the Imperial Ballet School, she made her company debut in 1899 and quickly became a prima ballerina. Her breakthrough performance was in The Dying Swan in 1905, which became her signature role. She joined the Ballet Russe in 1909 and formed her own company in 1911. Contracting double pneumonia while on tour, Pavlova died in 1931. When the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, England, opened in 1911, a gilded statue of Pavlova had been installed above the cupola of the theatre. This was taken down for its safety during World War II and was lost.

In 2006, a replica of the original statuewas restored in its place.

Historical photo: Legendary Anna Pavlovain the Fokine’s Saint-Saëns The Dying Swan, Saint Petersburg, 1905.

“It was Anna Pavlova, and no one else, who opened the world to ballet. It was she who did the back-breaking work of pioneering. It was Pavlova who found and

cultivated audiences for contemporary ballet companies. Her service to ballet is priceless. No other single human being did more for ballet than she. To all the millions of people for whom she danced she brought little of herself… what remains of Pavlova today is not a movement of art, not a tendency, not even a series of dances. It is something far less concrete, but possibly more valuable: inspiration. (Hilda Dutsova)

The artistry and spirit of Cuban ballet is galvanizing the World of dance in United States, Europe, Latin America, and beyond. Thecareer of the indomitable prima ballerina from Havana, Cuba, Alicia Alonso continues in talented young dancers: Lorena Feijoo,Lorna Feijoo, Joan Boada, Taras Domitro, and Cuban born Viengsay Valdes. Felicitaciones!

No wonder, just currently, (March 2013) six dancers defected fromNational Ballet in Cuba, auditioned at Miami ballet group. Dancers explained that they were looking to advance their careersoutside communist-led Cuba, where dancers enjoy privileged lives and earn modest salaries of $10 or 6.5 pounds to $30 a month plusbonuses for foreign tours.

“Cubans are a dancing people. Dance matter to us and it matters deeply.” (Alicia Alonso, 1917 – )

Alicia Alonso, who is now over ninety and wears heels, and still spearheads the public, Alonso has been partially blind from age of 19, developing an acute sense of balance by “visualizing herself internally.” The Swan Lake is Cuban Ballet’s signature piece. It was developed almost seventy years ago, based entirely on Alonso’s memory of versions that she had seen in Europe, or danced in the United States. Yet, Alonso claims, it is the version that remains faithful to that first performed in St. Petersburg in 1895. She is this Grande Dama – part of the nation’s very fabric – is still the boss; continuing to command world-wide respect, plus hold a tight rein over her National

Ballet company and its mainly traditional, classical repertoire. It is she who still oversees one of Havana’s most prestigious annual events: Havana’s International Ballet Festival.

Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martinez Hoya, Alicia Alonso, was born in Havana, Cuba the 21 of December of 1920. She was the one of two daughters of an army officer and his wife. Thefamily was financially comfortable and lived in a fashionable section of the then-vibrant capital. Alicia indicated at a very early age, her affinity for music and dance - her mother could occupy her happily for long periods with just a phonograph, a scarf, and some records. She started dancing at the age of nine and studied ballet at Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical in Havana with Sophie Fedorova. A year later she performed publicly for the first time in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty.

Don’t we want to know who was doing the ‘revolutionary tutus’? Asthe story tale goes, Ernestina would sew all day and all night inorder to meet tuition payment for her little girls. One day she made the first tutu for her daughter’s company, and later become one of Cuba’s leading ballet costume designer.

“What makes the Cuban dancers stand out, I think, is their ethics. They have the respect for ballet from an early age. It’s been said before that no one is born a dancer; you haveto want it more than anything. These Cubans want it and feel privileged to be a part of it.” (Mikhail Baryshnikov)

Ballet dancing is hard work. Many little girls start practicing regularly from age seven or in some cases, even earlier for five days a week, four to six hours a day. It take one formula; practice, practice, and practice on steps, jumps, gestures, and expressions. Below are words of strong inspiration from unparalleled teachers.

“Practice is means of inviting the perfection desired.” (Martha Graham)

“Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to paradise of the achievement is not easier than any other. There is fatigue so great that the body cries, even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration, there are daily small deaths.” (Martha Graham)

“Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it.” (Martha Graham)

“Someone once said that dancers work just as hard as policemen, always, alert, always tense, but see policemen don’t have to be beautiful at the same time.” (George Balanchine)

“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of theirpassion.” (Unknown)

“If you want to dance seriously, do. You must think about it day and night, dream aboutit, - desire it.” (Christa Justus)

It is a very competitive business. “The language of ballet is the same all over the world…The classes look the same wherever you go – Moscow, Paris, Bloomington.” (Clements Matuschek)

Just the warming up exercises include twenty athletic beautiful body bowings, twenty right arms risings, and twenty left legs stretching’s in synchronization that makes an aesthetic picture aforetaste of the elegance of a real stage performance. “Première position! And 1, and 2, and 3, come down; and 5 and 6 and élévé. And 1, and 2, and 3, plié; and 4 and raise your head! And 8!” – all you would hear from any dance studio or dance school teacherscontrolling dancers’ movement in the mirrors on the walls. Is it good enough? No, not at all. One more thing is not discussed – the love for dancing and passion! Love for the motion is a reasonshared by all ballet dancers to work hard and survive hours of exercising. It is difficult to describe it with words. Bill Irwinsaid: “The physical language of the body is so much powerful than words.”

“Dancing today can do anything; the technique is phenomenal. The passion and the meaning to their meaning to their movement can be another thing.” (Martha Graham)

What is cultural about ballet dance vision, or visual about ballet culture? Perhaps it is the combination of the visuality ofthe dance costume and the tutu skirt, aesthetics of the ballet movements and footwork of legs, the psychology of the perception of stage settings, sounds of music, and dancers’ professionalism that creates that spectacular visual-cultural effect that stays in time and space.

And as about the little girls’ tutu, “luxury today is a lot like live music.” (Yang Li) It’s the wrongness way, the deviation fromnorm, that what are counts. Putting it in the correct vocabulary,it is something phenomenon as beautiful anarchy, Pièce d’Anarchive oran “anarchive” combining “archive” and “anarchy” with a little candy coated twist: baby blue, buttercup yellow, lavender, and powder pink.

Bibliography

Aarons, Sigrid J. “Tulles of the Trade: Interview.” – Pointe Magazine, June/July, 2010.

Adams, David. “Cuban National Ballet Defectors in Miami Seeking to Advance Careers.” –Reuters: UK Edition, 05 April, 2013.

Allen, Courtney Rae. “Joey Dowling and Jacki Ford: Dancewear Designers.” – Dance Magazine, September 10, 2009.

Anderson, Jack, Janet Light, and Malcolm McCornick. Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo: The Golden Age of Costume and Set Design, 1938-1944. – 2002.

Au, Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance: 2nd ed. – New York: Thames and Hudson, 2002.

Ballerina: A Step-by- Step Guide to Ballet (Residents of the United States ofAmerica). – 2007.

Behar, Pierre and Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly. Spectaculum Europaeum: Theatre and Spectacle in Europe 91580-1750.) – Wiesbaden; Harrassowitz, 1999.

Bentley, Tony. Costumes by Karinska. – Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. –192 pages.

Bocher, Barbara and Adam Darius. The Cage: Dancing for Jerome Robbins andGeorge Balanchine 1949-1954. – 2012.

Cohen, Sarah R. Art, Dance and the Body in French Culture of the Ancien Regime. –

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Comte, Nathalie. “Europe, 1450-1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World.” – Ed. Jonthan Dewald. Vol. 2. – New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, p.94-108.

Cooper, Grier. “How to Become a Ballerina.” – ebook.

Cooper, Grier. ‘The History of the Ballet Tutu: Newsletter.” – Ezine@rticles. –http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Grier_Cooper

“Costume Preview 2007.” – Dance Teacher Magazine, April 2007.

Photo: Euro Tutu, Woodland Glade Fairy, Sleeping Beauty

“Costume Preview 2004.” – Dance Teacher Magazine, November 2003.

Photo: Classical Performance Tutu and Tunic

De Vonyar, Jill and Richard Kendall. Degas and Dance: Exhibition Catalogue. – New York: Abrams, 2002.

“Deck the Dance Halls.” – Dance Teacher Magazine, October, 2003.

Photo: Classic Tutu, Odette, Swan Lake

Folts, Claudia R. The Classic Tutu Book. – DeveloppeÌ Publishing, 2002. Distributed by Tutu.com

Folts, Claudia R. The Ultimate Ballet Skirt: Revised edition, 2002. Distributed by Tutu.com

Field-Gentis, Sara E. Elevated: Ballet and Culture in the United States, World War II to the National Endowment for the Arts: Dissertation. – [Abstract] http://udini.proquest.com/view/elevated-ballet-and-culture-in-the-goid:847227469

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Harrison, Mary Kent. How to Dress Dancers: Costuming Techniques for Dance. – Princeton Book Company Publishers, 1988.

Haskin, Christina. Dancer’s Book of Ballet Crafts: Dancewear, Accessories, and Keepsakes. – 2007.

Holmes, Mary and Mark Leonard. Nicolas Lancret: Dance before a Fountain (Getty Museum Studies of Art). – J. Paul Getty Museum, 2006.

Homans, Jennifer. Apollo’s Angels: Brief History of Ballet. – Random House, 2010. – 672 pages.

Huaixiang, Tan. Costume Crafting on a Budget: Clothing, 3-D Makeup, Wigs, Millinery & Accessory. – Focal Press, 2007.

Jones, Raelynn. How to Make a Tutu Easily. – 2012.

Kronenberg, Jennifer Carlynn. So, You Want to be a Ballet Dancer? – University Press of Florida, 2013. – 160 pages.

Laneri, Raquel. “The Black Swan Costume Controversy, and The Problem with Rodarte’s Tutus.” – Forbes, 04 February, 2011 at http://www.forbes.com/sites/raquellaneri/2011/02/04the-black-swan-costume-controversy...

Looseleaf, Victoria. “Giving It a Whirl: Dancers & Choreographerson Skirts vs. Tutus.” – Dance Magazine, 2007.

Looseleaf, Victoria. “The Story of the Tutu: Ballet’s Signature Costume Has a Fabled Past and a Glamorous Present.” – Dance Magazine, Vol. 82, No. 10, October 2007.

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Photo: Classical Tutu.

Morris, Mary Burke. The Costume Book: The Non-Professional’s Guide to Professional Results. – 2002 (Schiffer Book for Designers.)

“NYCB Costumes Offer Peek inside Ballet’s Wardrobe at Hattie’s Mardi Gras Celebration.” – Journal Register, 2013. http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/01/14/entertainment/doc50f185bc07caf28537035.prt

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Make your own beautiful boutique no-sew tutus.

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Roca, Octavio, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Alicia Alonco. Cuban Ballet.– Gibbs Smith, 2010. – 240 pages.

Seibert, Brian. “A Russian Touch Delivered Lovingly, With Gusto.”– The New York Times, 06 November, 2011.

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Photo: Classical Performance Tutu.

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With actors: Nina Anaiashvili and Alexei Fadeyechev

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Photo: Euro Tutu, Aurora, Sleeping Beauty

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Webliography

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http://www.dancedirect.com

http://www.tutuetoile.com

“Dance pretty ballerina to the sound of a classic sound. Let the music inspire you and sweep you away! Stand on pointe in your ballet shoes, then twirl little ballerina in your fancy tutu. Feel the pride upon Mommy & Daddy’s face as your pointed toes reveal your grace. Turn on one leg, little dancer, and pirouette, pretty little dancer, the best one yet…” (From invitation card to a Ballerina Party)

List of Books for Children

Bramsen, Krisren and Carin Bramsen. The Yellow Tutu. – 2013.

Castle, Kate. My First Ballet Book. – 2011.

Colman, Michelle Sinclair and Hiroe Nakata. Not That Tutu! – 2013.

Dubowski, Cathy East and Don Robinson. Plumeria Princess and Tutu’s Magic Ukulene. – 2006.

Emery, Airin and Tammy Lechner. Tutu Much (The Dance Series – Book# 1). – 2011.

Farley, Robin, Olga Ivanov, Aleksey Ivanov. Mia and the Too Big Tutu (My First I Can Read). – 2010.

Feldman, Jane. We Love Ballet! – 2004.

Hall, Kristina and Anne Kennedy. Ballerina Girl (My First Reader). – 2004.

Lewison, Wendy Cheyette. I Wear My Tutu Everywhere! (Reading RaildroadBooks). – 1996.

O’Connor, Jane and Robin Preiss Glasser. Fancy Nancy: Too Many Tutus (I Can Read Book). – 2012.

Rodriguez, Sonia, Kurt Browning, and Wilson Ong. T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Alphabets). – 2011.

Singer, Marlyn and Alexandra Boiger. Tallulah’s Tutu. – 2011.

“Dance, dance,Little ballerina!Let the music Inspire you andSweep you away!”

Flower girl wedding handkerchief gift with poem ballerina handpainted metallic edge