Ballet Costumes exude elegance and grace, one enticing factor why girls get attracted to pursue professional careers in ballet dance. Agnes Letestu, a well-known ballerina-turned ballet-costume designer revealed that at a young age she fell in love with the beautiful dresses dancers wore in opera ballet productions.
In earlier times, extravagant and flowing costumes were popular among European ballet dancers. Audiences were very conservative and wearing short skirts was unacceptable, however, because of huge and intricate embellishments they later realized that movements were restricted. Female ballerinas wore calf-length white tulle skirts. Pointed shoes made of satin are well-liked by ballerinas as it allowed them to dance on the tips of their toes.
Marie Taglioni created the tutu, a bell-shaped skirt of translucent fabric which was usually colored-white in the 18th century. It was adopted by many productions and later became the standard dress of ballet dancers. Tutus were created to provide visual splendor for the audience and grace for the dancer. In 1950, the Balanchine-Karinska-tutu was invented, an ingenuity attributed to George Balanchine and Varia Karinska.
In the 20th Century, ballet costumes became more wide-ranging. Michel Fokine introduced many variety of ballet costumes in this period. For ballet class, George Balanchine, introduced practical and inexpensive costumes that were widely accepted by ballet students for their comfort and simplicity. The tights, a one-piece garment that is close-fitting covering the body from neck to feet is used both by men and women.
For footwear, ballet dancers, both men and women wear ballet shoes, which are specially designed to allow them to stand on the tips of their toes. Ballet shoes are usually available in pink, black, or white and use either split sole or a full sole construction. A full sole is advantageous on a pointe shoe as it offers proper arch support while dancing en pointe. The fabric of ballet shoes is based on the dancers personal comfort, however each material offers definite advantages.
In the advent of new ballet costumes, new techniques as well emerged. Choreographers invented new challenging and daring steps brought by the diversity and versatility of costumes. Modern tutus, compare to the classic tutu composed of twelve layers and with wire hoops are now made of tulle or net and usually above the knees, less complicated and coordinates well with the dancers body movements. Male ballet dancers costumes, on the other hand, have remained the same.
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