High-flyer in a tights spot
QUESTION What did ballerinas and gymnasts wear before the leotard?
A leotArd is a unisex, skin-tight, onepiece garment that covers the torso from groin to shoulder.
It was named for, and made famous by, 19th century French acrobat Jules leotard. He modified an existing garment called the maillot, named after its inventor, a costumier at the Paris opera.
leotard was born in toulouse in 1838, the son of a gymnastics teacher. despite excelling at school and passing his legal exams, he was drawn to the circus.
He began to practise on trapeze bars, ropes and rings above a swimming pool. He joined the Cirque Napoleon and in 1859 performed its first flying trapeze act.
leotard became famous internationally and the subject of a popular song, the daring Young Man on the Flying trapeze, by British lyricist and singer George leybourne: ‘He’d fly through the air with the greatest of ease/A daring young man on the flying trapeze.’
He streamlined the baggy, woollen maillot which, as well as being practical, showed off every aspect of his physique and impressed spectators.
this worsted wool or silk garment became standard wear for acrobats and gymnasts. In the 20th century, a leotard with tights was the rehearsal wear for ballet dancers and popular as workout gear.
Ballet costume had taken a different route to that of acrobats. Until the 18th century, dancers wore flouncy, cumbersome court attire.
French dancer Marie Salle was the first to remove the pannier (hoops under the skirt), shirt and bodice.
In london in 1734, she caused a sensation when she danced in a muslin costume, her hair down and unornamented, in her production of Pygmalion. this was in line with her belief that dance should be natural and expressive.
In 1832 at the Paris premiere of la Sylphide, the audience marvelled when Marie taglioni rose onto the tips of her toes, seeming to defy gravity, to become the first ballerina to perform sur les pointes.
Her costume magnified the illusion with a long, free-flowing skirt made of layers of gauzy, net-like material that wafted through the air as she moved. this tutu
sparked controversy as some considered it resulted in indecent exposure. Sylvia Scott, London W6.
QUESTION Was the Women’s Petition Against Coffee, a 17th century tract claiming the drink emasculated men, a hoax?
tHIS tract was published in 1674 by an anonymous ‘well-willer’, supposedly on behalf of ‘several thousands of Buxome Good-Women, languishing in extremity of Want’.
It tried to dissuade men from spending so much time in coffee houses by arguing that the beverage was a ‘newfangled, abominable, heathenish’ drink that reduced their virility.
the document was probably an early example of government disinformation.
Coffee houses first appeared in damascus and Mecca in the 15th century before spreading to europe via Istanbul.
they were hugely popular meeting places where customers could discuss news, listen to music, play games and talk about politics while enjoying a cup of coffee. In the 17th century, the French traveller Jean Chardin described a Persian coffee house as a place where people could criticise the government without fear.
It was because of this that such places were often considered hotbeds of political unrest.
the first english coffee houses opened in oxford and london in the 1650s. By the time the tract was printed, there were 3,000 across the country.
labourers, artists, students, poets and anyone who could afford the penny entrance fee could be found there.
Following the restoration of the monarchy, an anxious Charles II tried to ban coffee houses, fearing they gave an opportunity to the disaffected to spread scandal about the king and his ministers.
It may well be that the Women’s Petition Against Coffee was his idea.
If so, it was a failure. london was soon second only to Istanbul in the number of its coffee houses.
Ian MacDonald, Billericay, Essex.
QUESTION What stops us from harnessing the sea to produce electricity?
We CAN use tides and currents to produce electricity, but it’s costly. the proposed tidal barrage across the river Severn could produce a predictable electricity supply, but the construction cost would be very expensive.
electricity can be produced by turbines driven by propellers underwater, but metal machinery in seawater requires regular, expensive maintenance to reduce breakdowns caused by the corrosive salt and oil leaks into the sea.
In areas of fast-moving currents, the water depth is low, preventing large propellers being used.
there are two high tides and two low tides each day. Unfortunately for electrical generation, the size or height of tide also varies throughout the month. Spring tides are the largest while neap tides are the weakest.
therefore, the amount of electricity produced would vary throughout the day and month. this means that every six hours, no electricity would be generated.
Conventional power generators would need to be on standby for use during these regular times of low supply. Steve Richards, Fareham, Hants.
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