The traditional costume of a ballerina is a skirt of a special cut - a tutu. Over time, when the development of ballet passed from one era to another, ideas about ballet outfits also changed. Ballet skirts were recognized not only to emphasize the figure of the dancer, but also to create her image and facilitate the performance. Women's skirts had a variety of forms and were decorated in a peculiar way. The tutu is flat, horizontally planted at the waist of the dancer, thin tulle skirts. Which, as if rising from a gust of wind, froze in different forms - "plates", "bells" and many others. Historically, changes in the ballet costume, of course, went in the direction of minimizing forms. The tutu originated from women's suits below the knees, empire skirts called "bell". And the "bell", in turn, is a shortened version of the romantic tunic - a long skirt to the heels. These delicate costumes belong to the world of ghosts, jeeps, spirits in "La Sylphide", "Giselle", "Serenade", and since the beginning of the 20th century, since the time of "Chopiniana", a transparent tunic has been called "Chopenovka" in ballet vernacular. In Covent Garden, the corps de ballet of swans in Swan Lake is still issued in silvery elongated bundles, it’s hard to call them bundles, but they are very reminiscent of those depicted on surviving engravings. In contrast to the white packs accepted in our tradition, “floating”, as if on the surface of a lake. Swan tutus, as well as a headdress made of feathers (in ballet slang, “headphones”), were invented by the same Ponomarev, noted by the English press, whose works can be used to study the era of the late 19th century and whose costume sketches for a large number of productions have been preserved in the St. Petersburg Theater Library. If at the time of Anna Pavlova the tutus were long and lush, then they became shorter and even shorter, and later - longer, but thinner. In this transformation, it is not difficult to trace the ballet fashion of each era, which, in turn, reflected "high fashion". The beginning of the century is a modern, hedonistic and refined style, which is why the packs are richly decorated with real feathers or precious stones. Pavlova's costumes were modeled by trendsetter Lev Bakst, he also sewed her casual clothes. The experience of the Russian-European avant-garde passed by our ballet (but by no means theatrical) fashion - only in the Diaghilev entreprise were there examples of constructivism in costumes (people-skyscrapers at Picasso in "Parade"), Suprematism (monochrome of Natalia Goncharova's ritual clothes in "The Wedding" ), the influence of fashion Chanel (in sports beach suits from the Blue Express). And yet, sometimes the art of the ballet costume reached constructivist heights (the most striking example is Tatiana Bruni's Bolt, but the sad fate of the production severely decided the fate of the decoration).

The utilitarianly simplified packs of the early Soviet years looked quite ascetic - the airy wavy line was not supposed to evoke bourgeois associations. 50-60s - years " new wave” in European art coincided with the first foreign tours of our decorated theaters and brought the fashion for a universal mini: ballerinas in narrow tutus appeared in ballet palaces and dreams. In the 1970s and 1980s, their width increased, but they somehow became discolored with stylelessness - like a reflection of years of dull calm, at the same time "stagnation" and "underground", official art. There are cases when the costumes "ruined" the ballet, and, conversely, high-quality choreography will never be frightened off by laconic clothes. So, in the middle of the 20th century, leotards and leotards entered the ballet fashion - not just universal rehearsal clothes for dancers, but the signature stage costume of the Balanchine school. The black leotard has become synonymous with his "black" ballets ("Agon", "Four Temperaments", "Symphony in Three Movements"); Balanchine and unimaginable contours had flat packs under the gastronomic name "plates", echoing the curves of wide-brimmed hats in the Symphony of the Far West. After the tour of the Balanchine troupe of the New York City Ballet, they began to look at ballet with different eyes in the USSR, they even began to dress for the lesson in a different way: before that, women practiced in gauze chitons, and men in whatever they had to. More precisely, the first step in this direction was made by the visits to Moscow of the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera in the late 1950s. By this time, Yuri Grigorovich's "Stone Flower" had just blossomed in Leningrad: no traditional costumes - Simon Virsaladze pulled the Mistress of the Copper Mountain into a spotted overalls. Then there was the "Legend of Love", after which the fashion for tight, like a second skin, ballet leotards was fixed in our country for a long time.

Meanwhile, tutus still occupy the place of the queen in the state of classical ballet. Until recently, there were constructive differences in their cut in Moscow and St. Petersburg: at the level of skirt shapes, outlines, the number of flounces and styling. It is important that packs of swans in St. Petersburg-Leningrad from time immemorial differed from nereids in Sleeping Beauty or shadows in La Bayadère.

But, as time shows, not only fashion is changing, because costumes of different cuts began to return to the performances of the Bolshoi. And the packs in the form of opened buds, appealing to imperial times, in Le Corsaire, the last major premiere of the theater, speak as much about the theater as they do about the whole country.

From its inception until the middle of the 19th century, ballet dance was performed in high-heeled shoes and long skirts. It was difficult to perform a number of elements in such an outfit, especially since the ballet was constantly being improved and acquired new positions and movements. At this time, pointe shoes known to the entire ballet world appeared. Pointe shoes are a special type of shoes that are fixed on the leg with ribbons, and the toe is reinforced with a hard block. The word pointe comes from the French "tip". French ballerinas could boast of being able to stand on their fingertips and perform complex elements at the same time. To facilitate such a dance, pointe shoes began to be used, which fixed the leg and allowed the ballerina to maintain balance. However, in order to start doing pointe shoes, you had to train for a long time. After all, these ballet shoes, as it facilitates the work of a professional dancer, can also harm an inexperienced performer.

In ballet schools, girls were taught classical dance elements for several years before they were allowed to wear pointe shoes. Dance skills and body flexibility contributed to the ballerina's mastery of pointe movement. Despite all the professionalism of the ballerina, before performing pointe shoes or class, it is necessary to warm up the legs and shoes well. If the ballerina neglects this rule, then her dance can end in serious injury. In order to dance en pointe, you need to work hard on strengthening your toes.

Modern pointe shoes are made of satin material, most often pointe shoes are ordered by the master for a particular ballerina. This is necessary so that they securely fasten the foot. A compacted material is placed in the toe of the ballet shoe, and the tapes intercept the leg at the ankle. ballet model collection design

Dance on pointe shoes is distinguished by a special grace and virtuosity of performance.

Continuing to explore the Internet for a match to the search word "ballet", I stumbled upon my favorite resource Gey.ru, the inhabitants of which, as it turned out, are very fond of ballet. And they give him a lot of attention.
Here is what I discovered on the most interesting (and discussed more than once) topic of ballet costume.

Men's ballet costume: from camisole and pantaloons to full nudity

For men in a ballet costume, it all started with such a bells and whistles that today it is impossible to even imagine how in such outfits one could not only dance, but simply move around the stage. But the dancers showed themselves to be real fighters for the complete liberation of the body from the rag shackles. True, the path that they had to travel to appear in front of the audience almost naked, only covering the "shame" with a fig leaf called a bandage, or even naked, turned out to be long, thorny and scandalous.
Skirt on the frame
What was a dancer in the early days of ballet? The artist's face was hidden by a mask, his head was decorated with a high wig with fluffy fluffy hair, the ends of which fell on his back. Over the wig was put on another incredible headdress. Suit fabrics were heavy, dense, generously whipped. The dancer appeared on stage in a skirt on a frame, reaching almost to the knee, and in high-heeled shoes. Mantles of gold and silver brocade were also used in men's attire, reaching back to the heels. Well, just a Christmas tree, just not glowing with multi-colored electric bulbs.
By the end of the 18th century, the ballet costume gradually began to change, becoming lighter and more elegant. The reason is the more complicated dance technique that needs to be released. male body from heavy clothes. Costume innovations, as always, are dictated by the trendsetter - Paris. The lead performer now wears a Greek tunic and sandals, the straps of which wrap around the ankle and base of the calf of the bare legs. The dancer of the demi-character genre performs in a short camisole, knickers and long stockings, the dancer of the characteristic role - in a theatrical shirt with an open collar, jacket and pants. In the second half of the 18th century, such an important attribute of men's attire appears, which, by the way, has survived to this day, as a flesh-colored tights. This amazing invention is attributed to the costume designer of the Paris Opera Mallo. But it is unlikely that this talented monsieur imagined that his tight-knit product would turn into something elastic in the 20th century.
Albert without pants
Everything went according to tradition and decency, until the great reformer of the ballet theater and a passionate admirer of the hot male body, Sergei Diaghilev, showed the world his entreprise - Diaghilev's Russian Seasons. This is where it all started - scandals, noise, hysteria and all sorts of stories associated with both Diaghilev himself and his lovers. After all, if earlier a ballerina reigned on the stage, and the dancer played the role of an obedient gentleman with her - he helped with rotation so that he would not fall, lifted him higher to show the balletomanes what was under her skirts, then Diaghilev makes the dancer the main character of his performances.
A loud scandal, connected not with Diaghilev's special sexual orientation, but only with a stage costume, erupted in 1911 at the play "Giselle", in which Vaslav Nijinsky - Diaghilev's official lover - danced Count Albert. The dancer was wearing everything that was required for the role - a leotard, a shirt, a short tunic, but there were no panties, which were mandatory for a dancer at that time. And therefore, Nijinsky's expressive hips appeared to the audience in their frank appetizing, which outraged Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was present at the performance. The scandalous story ended with the dismissal of Nijinsky "for disobedience and disrespect" to the imperial stage. But the dance search for the artist did not stop, he continued his struggle for the freedom of the body in dance. In the same year, Nijinsky appeared in the ballet "The Phantom of the Rose" in a costume designed by Lev Bakst, fitting the figure like a glove. A little later, in The Afternoon of a Faun, the dancer Nijinsky appears on stage in such a bold leotard, which still looks modern and sexy today. True, all these revelations are already taking place outside the native, but stubborn Russia.

That sweet word is bandage
In the fifties, the wizard of dance, idolizing the body, especially the male, Maurice Bejart came up with a universal outfit for the dancer and dancer: a girl in black tights, a young man in tights and bare-chested. Then the young man's outfit is improved, and the young man remains in only one bandage. But in the Soviet Union, as you know, there was no sex. He was not on the ballet stage either. Yes, of course, love existed, but pure - "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray", "Romeo and Juliet", but no frankness. This also applies to men's clothing. The dancer put on tight underpants, over them tights, and on top of the tights also cotton-wool pants. Even though you look through the most powerful telescope, you will not see any charms. Nevertheless, there were shameless daredevils in the Soviet fatherland who did not want to put up with such a uniform. They say that at one of the performances at the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theater, in 1957, the outstanding dancer Vakhtang Chabukiani appeared on stage in a very frank form: in white leggings worn directly on his naked body. Success has surpassed all conceivable limits. Sharp-tongued, the outstanding ballet teacher Agrippina Vaganova, at the sight of the dancer, turned to those sitting with her in the box and quipped: "I see such a bouquet even without eyepieces!"
In the footsteps of Chabukiani, another Kirovsky dancer followed, at that time not yet a ballet dissident and a world-famous gay, but just a theater soloist, Rudolf Nureyev. The first two acts of "Don Quixote" he danced in a traditional costume, permitted by the Soviet authorities - in tights, over which short pants with puffs were worn. Before the third act, a real scandal erupted behind the scenes: the artist wanted to wear only a white tight-fitting leotard over a special ballet bandage and no pants: “I don’t need these lampshades,” he said. The theatrical authorities dragged out the intermission for an hour, trying to persuade Nureyev. When the curtain finally opened, the audience was shocked: it seemed to everyone that he forgot to put on his pants.
Rudolf generally strove for maximum nudity. In Corsair, he went out with a bare chest, and in Don Quixote, an incredibly thin leotard created the illusion of bare skin. But at full power, the artist turned around already outside the Soviet homeland. So, in the "Sleeping Beauty", staged by him for the National Ballet of Canada, Nureyev appears wrapped in a floor-length cloak. Then he turns his back to the audience and slowly, slowly lowers the cloak until it freezes just below the buttocks.

Between the legs - coat shoulder
Tells theater artist Alla Kozhenkova:
- We did one ballet performance. During the fitting of the costume, the soloist tells me that he does not like the costume. I can’t understand what’s the matter: everything fits well, he looks great in this suit ... And suddenly it dawns on me - he doesn’t like the codpiece, it seems that it is too small. The next day I say to the dressmaker: "Please take the shoulder from the coat and insert it into the bandage." She told me: "Why? Why?" I told her: "Listen, I know what I'm saying, he will like it." At the next fitting, the dancer puts on the same costume and happily tells me: "You see, it has become much better." And after a second he adds: "Only it seems to me that you inserted a female shoulder, but it is small ... you need to insert a male one." I couldn't help laughing, but I did as he asked. The dressmaker sewed a shoulder from the raglan sleeve of a man's coat into the bandage. The artist was in seventh heaven with happiness.
Once a hare's foot was inserted, but now it is no longer in fashion - not the format, but the coat shoulder is what you need.
Nureyev was a pioneer in nudity in Leningrad, and in Moscow he was rivaled by Maris Liepa. Like Nureyev, he adored his body and just as resolutely exposed it. It was Liepa who was the first in the capital to take the stage in a bandage worn under a tights.
Man or woman?
But the most interesting thing is that men in the twentieth century tried not only to expose their bodies as much as possible, but also to cover them up. Some especially liked the women's ballet costumes. A real shock was caused in Russia by the creation of Valery Mikhailovsky's Men's Ballet, whose artists, in all seriousness, performed the women's repertoire in the most real ladies' outfits.
- Valery, who came up with the idea to create such an unusual troupe? I ask Mikhailovsky.
- The idea belongs to me.
- Now it is difficult to impress the public with something, but how your, so to speak, female-male dances were perceived ten years ago, when the team appeared. Have you been accused of homosexual shocking?
- Yes, it was not easy. There were all kinds of gossip. Nevertheless, the audience welcomes us with pleasure. And there were no accusations of homosexuality. Although everyone is free to think and see what he wants. We are not going to convince anyone.
- Did something similar exist in the world of dance before your male ballet?
- There is a Trocadero de Monte Carlo company in New York, but what they do is completely different. They have a crude parody of classical dance. We also parody ballet, but we do it, owning a profession.
- You want to say that you have mastered the technique of female classical dance to perfection?
- In general, we did not initially try to replace a woman in ballet. A woman is so beautiful that it is not worth encroaching on her. And no matter how elegant, refined, plastic a man is, he will never dance the way a woman dances. Therefore, women's parts should be danced with humor. What we are demonstrating.
But first, of course, it was necessary to master the female technique.
- And what is the size of your young men's shoes? Male or female?
- From forty-one to forty-three. And this was also a problem - there are no women's ballet shoes of this size in nature, so they are made to order for us. By the way, each of the dancers has their own name block.
- How do you hide your manhood - muscles, chest hair and all sorts of other juicy details?
- We do not hide anything and do not try to mislead the public; on the contrary, we emphasize that not women, but men speak before them.
- And yet, someone can be deceived. There must have been a lot of funny episodes?
- Yes, that was enough. It was, it seems, was in Perm. The guys, already made up, in wigs, are warming up on stage before the start of the performance, and I stand backstage and hear the conversation of two cleaners. One says to the other: "Listen, have you ever seen such hefty ballerinas?" To which she replies: "No, never, but do you hear what bass they are talking about?" - "Yes, what is there to be surprised, all smoky."
- Did any of the male viewers offer your artists a hand and a heart?
- No. True, once one spectator who paid a lot of money for a ticket came backstage and demanded that they prove to him that not women but men were speaking in front of him, they say, looking from the auditorium, he did not make out.
- And how did you prove it?
- The guys were already undressed, without packs, and he understood everything.
Everything is filmed
In fact, today you can’t surprise the audience with anything: neither a man in a tutu, nor the tightest leotards, or even a bandage. If only with a naked body ... Today, more and more often, a naked body appears in groups that profess modern dance. This is a kind of bait and seductive toy. A naked body can be sad, pathetic or playful. Such a joke was played in Moscow a few years ago by the American troupe Ted Shawn's Dancing Men. Young people appeared on the stage, modestly dressed in short women's dresses, reminiscent of combinations. No sooner had the dance begun than the auditorium went into ecstasy. The fact is that under the skirts the men were wearing nothing. The audience, in a mad desire to get a better look at the rich men's economy, which suddenly opened up to them, almost flew off their seats. The heads of the enthusiastic spectators twisted after the dance pirouettes, and the eyes seemed to be going out of the eyepieces of the binoculars, which in an instant stuck to the stage where the dancers frolicked heartily in their mischievous dance. It was both funny and exciting, stronger than any of the coolest striptease.
Our former compatriot and now international star Vladimir Malakhov performs completely naked in one of the ballets. By the way, when Vladimir still lived in Moscow, he was severely beaten in the entrance of his own house (so he had to have stitches on his head) precisely because of his non-traditional sexual orientation. Now Malakhov dances all over the world, including completely naked. He himself believes that nudity is not shocking, but the artistic imagery of the ballet in which he dances.

At the end of the 20th century, the body won over the costume in the struggle for its freedom. And it's natural. After all, what is a ballet performance? It is a dance of bodies awakening the bodies of the spectators. And it is best to watch such a performance with the body, not with the eyes. It is for this bodily awakening of the audience that the dance body needs complete freedom. So long live freedom!
The article is taken from the information resource www.gay.ru.

The elegance of ballet art always touches the soul of both adults and children. Girls are ready to spend hours looking at the most beautiful outfits with cute tutu skirts and tops embroidered with beads or rhinestones. And if a child does not practice ballet, but dreams of trying on such an outfit, why not please your little daughter and turn her into a ballerina at a New Year's party? Moreover, creating such an image is not at all difficult and not expensive.

The ballerina costume is suitable not only for the New Year's celebration. You can easily wear it for a birthday or just for playing. Therefore, you should not put off its creation and think that now is not the right time. The description below will make it easy to understand the sequence of work, as a result of which a delightful ballerina costume will definitely come out.

Image details

In order not to forget a single detail, it is worth immediately determining which elements of the image must be present in the costume. It is best to take a photo as an example or sketch a sketch of the desired outfit yourself. A ballerina costume must also have a beautiful top or a tight-fitting long-sleeved T-shirt. You can take ready-made golf with a throat. You will also need socks. Pointe shoes can easily replace Czechs or shoes, on which you can attach pieces of satin ribbons that will need to be wrapped around your shins. If a T-shirt with thin straps is used for the top, white gloves will perfectly complement the suit. IN long hair it will be possible to weave artificial flowers, and for a short haircut, hairpins or a headband with a beautiful decoration will do.

suit color

Children's ballerina costume can be made in absolutely any color. A key detail such as a tutu skirt will make the look instantly recognizable, whether it's in white or black or any other shade of the rainbow. Here it is better to consult with a little fashionista and give her the opportunity to participate in creating her image.

Creating a skirt

The main question when creating is how to sew a pack. It is this piece of clothing that in most cases causes difficulties. However, the process of creating a tutu skirt is complicated only at first glance. There are several options for creating this thing, one of them does not require sewing skills at all. For work, you will need a dense elastic band according to the volume of the child's waist and three meters of tulle, cut into strips 10-15 cm wide and 60 or 80 cm long, depending on what kind of skirt is needed. The whole process consists in the fact that the strips of fabric need to be tied with an elastic band close to each other. It is very important that the tulle is well ironed, because the finished product is quite difficult to put in order if the fabric is wrinkled.

It is also worth considering the option of how to sew a pack using a sewing machine. Here, too, everything is quite simple. Three strips of tulle with a width equal to the length of the skirt + 3 cm and a length of 4.5-6 meters are folded along the cuts, a line is laid, departing from the edge of 1 cm, then the back seam of the skirt is sewn up and a drawstring is made along the top for an elastic band, tucking the stitched edge of the fabric inside. After that, it remains to put a strong elastic band into the drawstring. Everything, the pack is ready!

Top creation

If a suitable T-shirt was not found in the child’s wardrobe, it can be sewn from knitted fabric. To do this, you need a strip of fabric with a width equal to the measurement from the shoulder and just below the waist, and the length of the child's waist. The fabric is folded in half, the neck and armholes are drawn, the excess is cut off, and then the shoulder and side seams are processed. If you take a supplex for work, then the slices can be left simply open. They will not crumble or go arrows. In the case of cotton canvas, you can process them with an elastic band. As you can see from the description, sewing a top on a ballerina costume with your own hands is not very difficult, the whole process will take no more than 20 minutes.

Making gloves

Gloves are best sewn either from supplex or from oil. Cotton is not suitable for this purpose. Of course, a ballerina costume will look more harmonious, in which the top and gloves are sewn from the same material. However, it is not necessary to use an identical canvas. In addition, gloves can be sewn from knitted guipure, which will look very gentle and romantic.

So, to sew gloves, you need to cut a strip of fabric equal to the desired length and a width of the child’s wrist + 1 cm. An elastic band should be sewn along one edge of the strip (top of the glove). After the workpiece is folded along long sections and a small corner is cut off along the bottom of the glove to make an overlap on the hand. A loop of satin ribbon for a finger is sewn onto the lap. And lastly close the seam of the glove.

decorative elements

A ballerina costume for a girl must be decorated with various flowers, stones, rhinestones or sequins. It is these elements that will add chic and brilliance to the created image. The ballerina costume can be embroidered with rain. At the same time, the outfit itself should be done in green, as if the ballerina plays the role of a Christmas tree, or leave the image snow-white, associating it with soft fluffy snowflakes.

The ideal option for creating a pack is tulle. But it has many varieties. There are canvases with a brilliant coating, with small looped polka dots and even with a pattern. It is also distinguished by hardness. Too dense tulle holds its shape well and can be used as one of the layers of a sewn tutu for a more curvaceous shape.

It is also impossible to ignore such material as organza lace. Quite often it is embroidered with sequins and looks very unusual. It can be combined with hard and soft tulle and make an original skirt. However, with such a rich decor of the pack, the top should be left matte and plain. ballerina costume on New Year can be made from tulle into a small snowflake in combination with a calm top. Or make a pack of strips of material, and glue pieces of tinsel on top.

A ballerina costume for a girl can be themed. What prevents, for example, to make a character from "Swan Lake"? A beautiful tutu with glued swan down and a matching headband - and the outfit of a charming swan is ready.

Pack creation options

Of course, tulle is very easy to work with, but there are other worthy materials that you should pay attention to. Carnival costume "Ballerina" will look great with a tutu of chiffon or the organza already mentioned above. The cut and sewing technique of such a skirt are somewhat different and require some skills.

To create such a product, you will need a template for a sun skirt, thin regelin, for processing the hem and an elastic band at the waist. The amount of fabric is calculated based on the number of layers of the skirt. To make the product look beautiful, there should be at least three layers.

The creation process consists in cutting out three or more circles from the main fabric according to the pattern, making a waist cutout with an elastic band, connecting all the layers together, and then processing them along the outer edge with regelin and an oblique trim, stretching the canvas to form waves. Such an original skirt is good for combination with a satin top, organza flowers, stones and rhinestones.

Additional accessories

Quite often, for a ballerina costume, small skirts are sewn on the hands, which are put on the forearm. And I must say, such elements look quite interesting. To sew such an accessory, you will need a strip of the main fabric from which the pack is made, about 50 cm long and no more than 7 cm wide. It is sewn along a smaller cut, one edge is processed into a collar or an oblique trim, and on the second drawstring for elastic.

To make the image more realistic, one cannot do without pointe shoes or their imitation. Shoes or Czech shoes and satin ribbons have already been mentioned, but the whole problem is that if the child moves a lot, the entire harness around the leg will simply fall down. Therefore, you can use a little trick: take stockings, put on a child’s leg, wrap linen around and tie with a beautiful bow, and then carefully tack the ribbon to the golf with small stitches. With such a secure fit, you can dance for hours on end.

Another interesting accessory that is customary for ballerinas to wear is a flower on the wrist. You can pick up a suitable size of a rose or a lily in a bridal salon, even with swan's down and beaded pendants, and sew it onto an ordinary white hair band. You can decorate your hair with a similar flower.

The costume in ballet is one of the important components of the design of the performance, it meets the requirements of both a specific ideological and figurative content, and the specifics of choreographic art. The role of the Costume in ballet is more significant than in drama or opera, because ballet is devoid of verbal text and its spectacular side carries an increased load, it should be light and comfortable for dancing, not hide, but reveal the structure of the body, not hinder movement, but help and highlight them. The requirements of figurative-characteristic concreteness and danceability often come into conflict with each other. Both excessive "everything" and the schematic impoverishment of the costume are extremes. The skill of the artist in ballet lies in overcoming these contradictions and extremes, in achieving an organic unity of imagery and dance.

The box looked like this before

Classic modern tutu

An outstanding master of costume in ballet. is S. B. Virsaladze. His works (especially in the performances staged by Yu. N. Grigorovich) are characterized by an organic unity of figurative characterization and dance. The artist never impoverishes the costume, never turns it into a clean uniform and an abstract scheme. His costume always reflects the figurative features of the hero and at the same time is conceived in motion, created in unity with the idea and work of the choreographer. Virsaladze dresses not so much the characters as the dance. His costumes are distinguished by high, often refined taste. Their cut and color bring out and emphasize dance moves. The costumes in Virsaladze's performances are brought into a certain system that corresponds to the peculiarities of the choreography. They are matched in color with the scenery, developing their pictorial theme, adding new colorful strokes, dynamizing them in accordance with the dance and music. Virsaladze's works are characterized by a kind of "picturesque symphonism".

A significant contribution to the development of Costume in ballet was made by Russian artists of the early 20th century. For Bakst, the very concept of the costume was born in connection with the choreographic movement; in his sketches, the costumes are presented in the sharply characteristic, often exaggerated movements of the dancers. The costumes of K. A. Korovin are distinguished by their coloristic richness and pictorial unity with the scenery. A subtle sense of the era and the individuality of the character was characteristic of A. N. Benois. In the costumes of N. K. Roerich, the elemental power and primitive exoticism of the characters are conveyed. The artists of the "World of Art" often absolutized the colorful meaning of the costume and interpreted it as a purely picturesque spot in big picture, sometimes ignoring or even suppressing the dancer. But with all this, they unusually enriched the expressiveness of the costume.

Modern ballet theater characterized by a variety of artistic costume solutions. He translates the entire historical experience of the development of the Costume in ballet, subordinating it to the special artistic tasks of a particular performance.

Pointe shoes - ballet shoes , usually delicate colors: pink, beige, gold ..

The word "pointe shoes" comes from the French term to dance "sur les pointes", that is, "on the tips of the fingers." Pointe shoes mean both the tips of the toes and the shoes in which they dance, leaning on the tips of the toes. In St. Petersburg they are called "forging" and "helmets", in Moscow - "fingers". Pointe shoes are the most important working tool for a ballerina. For one performance, the soloist sometimes changes them as much as three times. Star of the pre-revolutionary Mariinsky Theater Olga Spesivtseva "danced" a thousand couples per season. A corps de ballet dancer needs three pairs a month, soloists - four or five: pointe shoes do not last longer.
Until now, despite the progress, pointe shoes are made by hand. Each shoe has about 50 pieces. The most important is the "glass" - a hard toe pointe. The main secret of each company is in the glue for creating a glass.

In pointe dancing, the main thing is aplomb - this is a ballet skill to maintain balance in different poses, standing on the tip of your finger for two or three beats. And here it all depends on the "patch" - a mug on the tip of the pointe shoe, which makes it stable. So that the "patch" does not slide around the stage, it and the sole are rubbed with rosin. For each ballet with a certain type of choreography, shoes of different stiffness and type of patch are intended. Ballerinas even mark them on the inside with the names of performances: “ Swan Lake”, “Spartacus”, “La Bayadère”.

Ballet shoes are constantly evolving. In the era of Anna Pavlova, pointe shoes were only made of shiny black, white and beige satin, now they are made matte to visually lengthen the foot, and in all conceivable colors. Although the three colors mentioned above are still at the peak of popularity, the bright color of the shoes should not distract the viewer from the dance.

Pointe shoes are made by hand. Ballet shoe from Grishko, the most famous Russian manufacturer, consists of 54 parts. The upper is cut out of satin and coarse calico, the sole is made of genuine leather.

The most important part of a pointe shoe is the "box" or "glass" - the rigid part above the support patch. It is made from 6 layers of burlap and textiles, sticking them one on top of the other. The “box” is glued into the toe of the pointe shoe, and then the master must carefully and quickly - so that the details do not move and do not stain the satin top of the shoe with glue - turn it from the inside out onto the face.

To feel the last and the fabric, the masters collect pointe shoes not on the table, but on their own knees. After that, the toe part is molded with a special hammer, put on the block, and sent to the dryer for about 15 hours, where it “tans” at a temperature of 55 degrees. After it, it remains only to put flexible arch supports into pointe shoes. The finished pair is carefully checked: put on a block, it must stand without support.

Grishko produces about 25-30 thousand pairs of pointe shoes per month, of which 70 percent are sent abroad. Ballerinas from 80 countries of the world dance in the pointe shoes of this Russian company.

What are pointe shoes for? Great Baryshnikov is in front of you.

The most popular pointe shoes are flesh-colored. Of course, other colors are also made. In fact, the manufacture of pointe shoes has many secrets, and many ballerinas seriously distinguish between the products of various companies and masters. Anna Pavlova believed that handmade shoes contain a particle of the master's soul.

It is difficult to say how environmentally friendly pointe shoes are today. In any case, the pointe shoes of the ballerina, who was the first in the world to stand on them, were eaten by fans. It's about Maria Taglioni.

Her shoes were auctioned and eaten..

Grace that captivates the eye, magnificent pantomime, music that stirs to the depths of the soul - these are the words I describe my feelings after attending the ballet. Ballerinas flutter like butterflies, barely touching the stage. Each movement seems light and airy, and you can’t take your eyes off the elegant costumes of the dancers .

The history of ballet began around 1400. The birthplace of this dance is Italy, but many associate ballet with France.

This is because it was in France that he gained strength and gained popularity, thanks to the choreographer Jean Georges Nover. The ballet costume at that time consisted of many layers and heavy fabrics, which did not allow dancers to perform the most elegant poses and movements. for long puffy and heavy skirts.

The revolution in the world of ballet fashion in the 19th century was made by the Italian ballerina Maria Taglioni. Even as a girl, Taglioni participated in various productions, but each of her appearances was different in that she refused the then fashionable high-heeled shoes, puffy dresses, makeup and wigs, and appeared on stage in a simple dress. It was she who first performed the dance on pointe socks and in a tutu skirt, which was made especially for her in 1839 according to a sketch by designer Eugene Lamy. A light tunic flowing through the air, resembling the shape of a flower, helped the ballerina perform movement technique and radiate fabulous unearthly light.

In France, there is even a custom among young people to leave their first pointe shoes on the grave of their predecessor. This spectacle, however, is not very impressive ...

Pointe shoes
The first ballet shoes appeared in the 19th century, before that, special corks, about 2 fingers thick, were put into ballerinas' shoes. Because of this, the shoes quickly wore out and became unusable.
Modern ballet shoes are made individually for each dancer, and not according to the usual standard sizes. Measurements are taken from the legs of ballerinas and a wooden block is processed, repeating the contour of the foot. A strong leather sole is nailed to the block, which is much smaller than the size of the foot and sheathed with material, most often satin fabric. Pointe shoes must be the same shape as the last, so they are hammered to the perfect shape. The insoles in pointe shoes are usually made of cardboard and leather, which gives flexibility to the movements of the foot. .After drying, the block becomes so hard that it can even hammer nails.

ballet tutu
As I wrote above, for the first time a ballet tutu was created for the romantic and fragile Taglioni. There are two types of ballet tutu skirts: classical and chopinka (tunic).
The classic tutu is multi-layered, 10-15 layers of material and a rigid hoop are used in its manufacture. It takes about three days of painstaking and constant work to make one such tutu. a magnificent view, it is stored in a suspended state.