...well, I did some reading and to make it short, it was complex evolution over time and tutus started out as long skirts rather than the short little ruffly thing we are familiar with. I also learned that back in the day when theaters where lit via candle light dancers actually caught fire when they danced a little too close to the candle, Yikes!
Its also interesting to find out that the origins of the word tutu are believed to stem from the slang bulgar reference to the private parts of the dancers, for back in the old days dancers didn't or couldn't cover up.
Further explanation from worddetective.com:
"Tutu" first appeared as an English word around 1910, drawn directly from the French "le tutu" as a name for the ballet dress, and here's where things start to get a little odd. "Tutu" in French is actually what the Oxford English Dictionary calls a "childish alteration of," how a small child would pronounce, the word "cucu." (A similar instance in English is the British term "twee," meaning "overly precious or saccharine," which originated as a child's pronunciation of the word "sweet.")
The French word "cucu" is, in turn, a diminutive form of the word "cul," which means "bottom or backside," the portion of a dancer's anatomy that the classic "tutu" does a less than perfect job of concealing.
Why so focused on ballet? Today I enrolled my little one in her first ballet class, we both had the best of times! Can't wait to go shopping for ballet clothes!
0 comments:
Post a Comment