The Dancers Tutu, can vary a great deal, and by looking closely at the design and style used, you come to realise that there is a difference between Countries and Companies. From Russia to America, France and the United Kingdom, not forgetting the many productions from elsewhere, there seems to have been a distinct difference that has appeared in recent years.


With the availibility of synthetic nets and other products it is possible to be able to design and make easy to manage costumes.
The first tutu's were made of Tarleton, that had to be washed, starched, and ironed dry to become stiff enough to hold it's shape. I can remember working with the Bolshoi, then the Kirov in the early sixties, and they were still quite primotive in their costumes, only using the poorest decorations. and hand dyed white basic type
Tarleton (muslin). It was hard work, as by then most of our Royal Ballet Tutu's were made of "modern" nets.

Over the years the basic shape and pattern of the standard Tutu has not changed, the major difference being the wider availibility of fabrics to choose. You may get a particular designer do something different, which neither gives the correct support or comfort to the dancer. In fact some Tutu bodices which do not have the correct panels, which should total 10=12 panels per bodice to give a flattering fit to the danceer. Some of the modern tops which only have darts to give it shape, do not give comfort and the right flattering shape. They may be quicker and easier to make, but the end result is no where near as good as the tradional type.

This brings us to the main basque on which the base sits. This consists of a petersham waistband, that joins onto the top of an inner basuqe, cut on the cross, this is doouble material, part cotton, underneath, and on top the same material used for the bodice. The panty section is made of soft rayon net, which is stronger and thicker than the top net. Onto this is sewn up to 25 layers of tight frills, which are fixed about 1 inch appart, increasing from half an inch wide to the desired length of the top layer. At intervals we placed Tutu Ties, made of the full strands of embroidery silk, which was threaded through the layers of the net, to safe guard the boys fingers, when lifting. . and of course to hold the layers in shape. The bottom of each frill would be shaped in scollops or like a triangle, which if you were clever, could be cut without a pattern quickly by hand with a pair of very sharp scissors. (And I had the scars to prove it!!)



When the costume had reached this point the decoration would be sewn on but only in a certain way, as you had to remove it sometimes to wash the Tutu, and dare not ruin it . Beautiful embroidery with Gold thread on ,jewels and sequins can be quite fragile. Y ou had to know exactly what you were doing, or disaster could strike. The whole costume would be hung up, from the crotch, with the frills facing downwards. They were stored and travelled laying flat in specially made 3ft square cases, with a lid.



In recent times I have noticed that the Russian Tutu's have ugly plain panty sections, with no attractrive frills to cover the undneath of the costume, all you see is like a leotard bottom. Ver distracting leaving a hard line not at all pleasing to the eye. ( or at least not an experienced designer, costumier's and Wardrobe Mistress's eye !!)




Have a good look at Tutu's today, and see if you can spot the difference ? Maybe compare the Companies and Countries............ :flowers:Nanarina
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Thank you for such interesting info regarding tutus. You seem to be a very accomplished artist in this field.

I'm wondering, with all the negative comments from London, right now, about the Symphony in C (NYCB's) tutus.... Have you seen them? What did you think?

I'll have to dig up my coffee table book on Karinska by Toni Bentley and see what comments I'll find there about the ideas behind the original designs.

But, in the meantime, my impression has been that Karinska and Balanchine wanted a youthful, more fluffy tutu style with less width (a al pancakes) so that the panties are for the most part not visible. (There are ruffles on the panties.) The satin bows also add a youthful but sophisticated, feminine touch. I think, on leggy dancers, these tutus are gorgeous.

I do wish that NYCB's Symphony in C tutus were a little bit flatter, a couple less layers. When freshly taken out of storage/cleaning, they can look too puffy, which is what I think happened this week in London. Then again, after a long season of repeated performances, these tutus can easily get saggy, turning into a very short, skirt-type look. Definitely undesirable for Sym in C when wearing a tiara.

Yes, thank you, Nanarina for your comments. I agree with sz that the Karinska tutus for Symphony in C provide a much more sprightly, youthful form and are quite lovely. You may be interested in the extensive discussions on tutus which are on Ballet Talk for Dancers, in the Pro Shop forum. Many of our contributors there are professional costumers, and some are very experienced in building tutus. You are correct in that there are many different shapes and methods of construction; quite often professional costumers can tell the costume shop 'signatures' just by looking at the slope of a skirt, ornamentation, etc.

Please visit the Pro Shop--I'm sure you'll find it interesting and we would welcome your contributions!!

I love the look of the tutu and I feel it is very complimentary to dancers body and her movement. It marks such a clear separation of the legs from the upper body, but it doesn't destroy the line. There was an amazing exhibit of Tutus at the NY City Center some time ago and the detail and workmanship was stunning. It's a shame that the audience doesn't get to see the detail of some these garment.

I am curious who invented the tutu and what was driving force or idea behind it? Was it introduced for one ballet in particular? is there a "standard" diameter?

Is a tutu considered traditional or do more contemporary choreographers use them?

Sorry for all questions, but this is my ballet learning lab.

sz (or anyone), do you remember the Symphony in C costumes with the brocade bodices that NYCB used for a few years? I thought those were lovely. I wonder why they were discarded. I've never particularly liked the standard ones with the bows atop the tutu. Rather than youthful, I find them dowdy.

I really dislike the super-puffed tutus that were fashionable in the '50s and '60s. One of the frustrations of the Kolpakova Sleeping Beauty video is that her skirt often rises so high to obscure her arabesque and attitude line.

There should be a law against ruffle-less panties! They detract from the elegance of the overall costume.

> do you remember the Symphony in C costumes with the brocade bodices that NYCB used for a few years?

Carbro, I only remember wearing the satin(ish), boned, sleek bodices with a very flat, simple bow at the top. I have heard about the brocade version, but have no memory of seeing them.

I wonder what London will think of the current (not Karinska's originals) Western Symphony's costumes...

According to Wikipedia, the classic tutu was invented during the late 19th century. It comes from the word cucu which in French, means bottom, but was first used in Russia. It states that it was made at the same time as The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

Nanarina: Thank you so much for that fascinating post. I suspect we, the audience, tend to give all the credit to the designers, forgetting there is as much (if not more) artistry in building the costumes as in dreaming them up in the first place.

Peggy

Hello everyone, thank you for your feedback on my post about Tutu's.
I think the first style that appeared were "Russian type skirted Tutu's," rather than the flat plate like shapes we see later. The earliest costumes were knee length, if you look at old photographs or paintings such as Degas. And yes, they did appear from the time the first major productions were choreographed by Petipa. I have not seen NYCB Symphony in C., but would love to. However, it means a trip to London. I wish some of the visiting Companies would visit the provinces more often.

As far as I can remember the Tutu's at the Royal Ballet, were made in the Opera House workshops, by their own staff. These were made to the same basic pattern, and any difference in style or decoration was put on to the basic shape. So each costume would be identicle for every dancer. The stars and soloists still had the same basic pattern, but there were two Costumiers who made Margot Fonteyns Tutu's and also some of the other Ballerina's. It was quite rare for costumes to be made "out of the house",though boots and shoes were often made by Freeds, or anoher reconised maker. and of course the pointe shoes.