What are the different types of Tutu skirts?

Sat Mar 26 09:37:27 CST 2022

A tutu, in addition to telling the character, allows the audience to immediately identify the black swan or the sleeping beauty, but also constructs the dancer's movements, its structure supporting the ballet's physicality.

You can recognize the three main parts first:

1. (TheBodice)

2. (provinces)

3. (Skirt)

Wearing a tutu generally marks a mature stage in a classical ballerina's career, as there is nothing like a tutu skirt to fully reveal the lines of the body, to hide them, and to expose every little technical detail.

In the classification, I believe that many students know that there are long skirts of romantic ballet, and there are short skirts of classical ballet.

There's also a pendulum tutu for skirts, and skirts can be subdivided into platter tutu, pancake tutu, puff tutu, and so on.

Each tutu has its own history, and its relationship to stage life and to the body is reflected in changes.

1. Tutu (Romantic)

It is an evolutionary outgrowth of the 1832 debut of Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide.

Mary Taglioni

Mary Taglioni

Dressed in what became known as the Romantic tutu, Taglioni's costume consisted of a tight-fitting top with bare neck and shoulders, and a bell-shaped gauze skirt.The hem fell between the knees and ankles and was made of layers of stiff tarlatan or highly wrinkled clear cotton tulle, giving the illusion of fullness without seeming heavy.The audience was mesmerized.

British Royal Ballet The Jewel

British Royal Ballet "The Jewel"

Today's Romantic dresses are still based on the skirts of the time, with modern materials to make the lines lighter and transparent, and are usually made of 5-6 layers of yarn with a hem between the knee and ankle.

2. The pendulum tutu (Bell)

The pendulum tutu lies between the classic tutu and the romantic tutu.

It is made of several layers of tulle, as protruding as a classic tutu, but the thin layer is longer and has a downward drooping, usually to the mid-thigh.

The pendulum tutu are also used in famous Degas paintings

The pendulum tutu are also used in famous Degas paintings

3. Pancake Tutu

By 1870, Italian ballerinas, intent on perfecting their pointe technique, began wearing tutus that were cut above the knee to allow them to show off more of their legs and increasingly intricate footwork, with trousers under the skirts.

It later became known as the classical tutu and became famous for ballets such as Swan Lake.

The Nutcracker Sugar Plum Fairy Pacific Northwest Ballet

The Nutcracker Sugar Plum Fairy Pacific Northwest Ballet

In order to make the dress protruding from the hips, it was supported by iron rings embedded in its layers.It's short and stiff.As the name suggests, it looks like a pancake.Yarn with a wrinkled surface.

4. The tutu is a kind of Platter.

Much like the pancake tutu, but without the wire to hold it in place, it is sewn with 10 to 12 layers of hard yarn, has a flat surface, and is decorated.

The Royal Ballet Sleeping Beauty

The Royal Ballet Sleeping Beauty

5. Tutu (Powder- Puff)

Also known as the Balanchine style of tutu, it was originally created for the ballet version of George Bizet's C Symphony.

The Jewel by George Balanchine - Diamonds

Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet

It is a short tutu with fewer layers of netting and is not as prominent as the pancake and platter tutu.These layers are not supported by tightrope and are usually loose.

This allows the tutu to move more with the dancer, while giving her a softer, fuller appearance.