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Written on May 13, 2008 by Katie

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Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD Review

primaprincessa.jpgPrima Princessa presents Swan Lake is a fantastic introduction to classical ballet. I loved this DVD and am so happy to recommend it to all of you who have young children.

My six year old daughter adores the entire production, dancing along with the little girls. My 12 year old, on the other hand, enjoys the professional dancing sequences, but she considers it a “little kids” DVD.

It was put together by 2 stay-at-home-moms with no prior film-making experience, Stephanie Troeller and Mary Kate Mellow. Inspired by the unbridled joy of their daughters’ love of dance, they decided to create a grass-roots direct to DVD show for girls ages 3-8 years old called “Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake”.

Have they succeeded? I certainly think so.

The DVD does a great job of explaining the basic ballet positions, in a way that children can understand. And, the animation is enchanting. Prima Princessa is everything a fairy princess should be: smart, funny, charming and adorable.

The narration of the story of Swan Lake is done at a simple enough level for children of all ages to understand, yet it also gives enough depth for older viewers to appreciate as they see the story unfold in the dance.

I also like the way the viewer is invited to dance along. My youngest daughter spends almost the entire 40 minutes of this DVD dancing around! Another highlight is the special feature, “Dance of the Baby Swans.” Both my girls love it!

This DVD is a fantastic (and inexpensive) way to introduce children to the world of classical ballet. And for families like mine, that live 100 miles from anywhere (let alone Lincoln Center), it’s a great way to introduce the kids to a classical segment of culture that they otherwise wouldn’t have seen.

Mary Kay and Stephanie have set up a wonderful website where you can view a clip of the DVD. You can visit them here: www.primaprincessa.com.

I would love to see more of these productions for young children. The Nutcracker would be awesome!

Comments

One Response to “Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD Review”

  1. Asianmommy on May 15th, 2008 2:33 pm

    Wow–that’s fantastic that 2 SAHMs thought up this idea. My little girls LOVE ballet. This DVD is right up their alley.

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