She’s A Ballerina Again! With Prima Princessa Review & Giveway

Ballet School Dropout: My Daughter’s Story

The Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake DVD came along at a very opportune time in my life. See, I was going through my first very big disappointment-as-a-mom-of-a-five-year-old-daughter-ballet-school-dropout. Let me explain.

In January we decided to enroll our oldest daughter in her first extra-curricular activity. She chose ballet classes like her friend in school. She ended up being in the same class as her friend and was very excited to wear the requisite pink leotard, tights, slippers and tutu. But after a few classes she was struggling. The other kids had been at it longer and coordination isn’t her strong point. Luckily her teacher was sympathetic and offered to let us move into an easier class. She was reluctant at first to leave her friend, but courageously made the decision to give the other class a try. The difference it made in her enjoyment of the class and her confidence was outstanding. We were all thrilled.

Then they began learning their dance for the May recital. Everything was going along nicely until one day at the end of March when their teacher put the song they were practicing to on repeat. You know the movie Rain Man when Tom Cruise does something out of the ordinary, out of Dustin Hoffmann’s routine, and Dustin Hoffman goes a little crazy? Yelling and screaming, covering his ears and generally freaking out? Well, that’s what my daughter did. That’s what she does, though generally not unless her dad or I are around. Her teacher called me at home telling me I needed to come and pick her up, that she was very upset and refused to dance anymore. After we figured out what caused the panic attack the teacher promised my daughter she wouldn’t put any song on repeat ever again. And even though things had been going well in general, I gave her some other tips for supporting my daughter, just to ensure no one had to go through that again.

But after that day my sweet girl never danced again. We took her back every Thursday afternoon in April, but each time either her dad or I had to sit with her for the entire class because she was absolutely terrified. She was fine before we arrived. She was happy to get dressed for class and for me to do her hair, but as soon as we walked through the door she clung to us like we were sending her to the gallows. It broke my heart. I almost broke down crying in her class while encouraging her to dance and watching her very skilled and kind teacher do the same. Her teacher said to me “I don’t know how you do it,” and I told her “I don’t know how I do it either.” Every modification and accommodation that could be made for her was made. They even practiced their dances without the music, but she was done. We pulled her out of her ballet class three weeks before her dance recital. I never got to see her do her lion dance in the school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She still refuses to show it to me at home. I have cried quite a few tears over this.

My Prima Princessa Review

Then a couple of weeks ago I got an email asking me if I would like to review the Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake DVD. Perfect for girls ages 3-6 who want to dance like a real ballerina. This meant my daughter could wear her ballet uniform, do ballet at home, and watch real ballet dancers perform Swan Lake all at the same time. I was so excited to watch this DVD with my girls I could barely contain myself. And lo and behold, my five year old ballet-school dropout loved it too. She copied the steps like an old pro, completely confident in her abilities to do so. She floated and fluttered with the biggest smile of confident contentment. My heart melted. It was the girl I watched on observation day only three classes in back in January. Back then they didn’t need to know a dance, they were just learning to point their toes and twirl in their tutus. They could move freely to the music and that’s what my daughter did, eyes closed, that sliver of a smile on her lips. We knew she loved it. She did. And now she does again. And so does her three year old sister who gets to dance ballet just like her big sister. It held their attention for the full length of the video too.

Prima Princessa is a 40 minute DVD that shows parts of each act of Swan Lake as performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. They also have a DVD of The Nutcracker. Most children and many adults (including me!) have never seen a real ballet performed, and this DVD not only shows you the performance, but narrates the story for you in a way that young children can understand. Art appreciation at its finest! Then between the acts your child gets to practice a basic ballet move, like un grand battement (a big kick), un jété (a jump), or une pirouette (a twirl), all demonstrated by clips from students of the School of American Ballet and practiced by a group of 3-6 year old girls in cute ballet outfits playing on the grass.

Regardless of my personal reasons for loving this DVD, I highly recommend it for any family of a young wanna-be ballerina. I was slightly disappointed that none of the child performers were boys because boys can like ballet too you know! But there are male dancers in the Swan Lake performance and that did generate the discussion I wanted to have about boys and men being able to dance ballet too.

***Disclosure: A free copy of Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake was sent to me in exchange for a review. All of the opinions contained within this post are my own and exactly how I feel about this product.***

To Preview: Visit the Prima Princessa website to watch a great preview of their DVDs.

To Buy: Visit Prima Princessa to find a retailer on line or near you.

The Giveaway

Prima Princessa is giving away one Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake DVD to one lucky Breastfeeding Moms Unite! reader.

To Win: Visit the Prima Princessa website and leave a comment telling me something you learned or saw on their site. You must do this to qualify for the prize.

Extra Entries:

For one (1) Extra Entry: (you must leave a comment for each one of these things you do)

Subscribe to Breastfeeding Moms Unite! by RSS or email.

Follow @bfmom on Twitter and retweet this giveaway: RT @bfmom If you know a girl who wants to dance like a ballerina Enter to win the Prima Princessa DVD http://bit.ly/cNbSag (please leave a link to your tweet)

Become a Breastfeeding Moms Unite! Facebook fan

For three (3) Extra Entries: (please leave 3 comments per thing you do)

Post this giveaway on your Facebook page (leave a link)

Post about this giveaway on your blog.

Stumble this giveaway or another one of my posts. (Leave a comment telling me which one)

Contest open to residents of USA and Canada. Contest closes June 23rd, 2010 at 5:00 PST.

One winner will be chosen randomly using random.org. The winner has up to 48 hours to reply by email before I will have to choose a new winner. Good luck!

PS If you want to leave a comment about my daughter’s ballet story then you can do so in the comment section, but if you don’t want to enter the giveaway just tell me and I will remove your comment after I’ve read it and reply personally to your email. If you do want to enter the giveaway, just make sure you do the pre-requisite comment for the prize within the body of your comment about my daughter and I will reply to you via your personal email as well. Thanks!

Related posts:

1. A Few Things Breastfeeding Moms Should Know About This Week
2. Getting The Hang Of Breastfeeding