TutuZone

Z Reviews

Thanks Z for the review!!!!

Here's an excerpt:

"Prima Princessa's DVD Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake successfully merges two different segment types for each abbreviated act of the ballet - a viewing of the Paris Opera Ballet performance of Swan Lake with a voice-over telling the story, followed by a segment which is a combination of preschoolers dancing and of ballet students at the American Ballet Theater school practicing simple ballet steps. The whole thing is emceed by a fairly crude animated ballerina fairy, but it works really well - there's nothing that gets kids moving while watching a video than seeing other kids moving, and combining that with the inspired dancing of the Paris Opera performers is really inspiring to Z. Halfway through the video, she is almost guaranteed to be up and doing grand jetes with the other kids."

Remarkably Great

  Big thanks to Remarkably Great for their review of our ballet DVD for kids. Check out this site for a great selection of interesting products for parents and their kids. On her page there is a handy list of many assoirted categories. - Mary Kate

Here's an excerpt from the July 21st review:

"I am writing this review from the standpoint of a ballet-dummy i.e. someone who knows barely anything about ballet. I never did it as a kid and I am ashamed to admit that I fell asleep during The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House at London’s Covent Garden.

Now I am a mum to a gorgeous 2-year-old and I am getting into the “girly-girl” stuff and also wanting to add cultural enrichment to her young life.

Prima Princessa is a very cute and fun way of introducing the basics of ballet to toddlers and young children and I REALLY enjoyed watching it with my little girl. (She is just beginning to get into the fairy costumes and pretty pink things.)

Actual demonstrations of ballet by students and professional dancers are interspersed with cute little girls in their ballet outfits dancing around a garden. It is a very simple but engaging introduction to ballet and I found myself in wonderment at the dancers’ graceful moves. Ballet dancers from Paris Opera Ballet and Scool of American Ballet are featured so this is a very credible production.

I also LOVE it because it is the brainchild of two mums (from New Jersey) so it has been created in the best interests of kids and parents."

Prima Princessa Productions, LLC- Find the perfect gift for your little girl

All Because Two People Fell In Love Review

Thanks to Stacey for the great review. I really enjoyed the photos of your daughter dancing around to the DVD! That's just what we hoped for in making this DVD. - Mary Kate

Here are some excerpts and adorable photos for her daughter dancing to our DVD from the review:

"So as you can see by the pictures below our 4 year old dancing diva is trying to become a graceful ballerina!! She was so captivated by this movie!! The short segments of actual ballet lessons, scenes from the Paris Opera’s performance of Swan Lake, and clips of little girls dancing in tutus trying to imitate the dancers was enough variety to keep Ella interested! She was up trying to mimic every move!! This was a movie that I even enjoyed watching! We were able to learn the some ballerina terminology (like pirouettes, arabesques, and jetes)! Ella loved the animated fairy that magically transported the preschool girls to the Opera! She can't watch the movie without dressing the part and twirling around the room!! "

"So if you are looking for an instructional and entertaining DVD to introduce your young child to ballet then check out Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake!!! With easy to learn dance moves your little ballerina will love it."

An Island Review

I love the name of this blog, "An Island Review" as it makes me think of someone enjoying herself on some beautiful beach somewhere. Thanks to Island Review for reviewing our DVD, a hip, new ballet DVD for kids. -Mary Kate

Here's an excerpt:

"I you have a little ballerina living in your home, she's going to love this! Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake’ takes you on a journey to the Paris Opera Ballet as they dance to the classical Swan Lake Ballet. "In between each act, the children return home,dress up in fun pretty tutus, and learn a simple ballet step. Each step is playfully shown mixed into a colorful montage of toys, animals, birds, children and young dancers from the School of American Ballet."

My daughters enjoyed this interactive DVD and the narration by Prima Princessa helped them understand the story behind Swan Lake. Even I learned a few new things! The transformations between animation to live performances kept this DVD entertaining and was able to hold my girls' attentions longer than most DVDs.

That's always a good thing! *don't judge me - hee hee*"

www.PrimaPrincessa.com- find the perfect gift for your ballerina princess

Mom of Two Dancers

A Shopping Queen's Blog

A Big Thanks to A Shopping Queen's Blog for reviewing our DVD!  This is a really fun blog full of great shopping tips and finds from a real pro! We are proud to be part of this site. Here's the review:

"Recently I was requested to review Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD and of course, I jumped at the chance.  My three year old daughter loves to dance and I am looking forward to sending her to a ballet school when she turns 4.  The 40-minute video is about the story of Swan Lake, performed by the Paris Opera Ballet and is narrated by a lovely and chic fairy called Prima Princessa. When I played the enchanting DVD to my daughter, she was mesmerised.  To be honest, even I enjoyed watching it.  I also got to learn a thing or two about ballet.  I know what “Piroutte”, “Jete”, “Pas de Chat” means now :)

My daughter tried to copy the dance moves when she saw the children in tutus playing and dancing in the video. She was also captivated by the Dance of The Baby Swans scene.  After we finished watching it, my daughter tells me that she wants to learn ballet and she has been twirling around the house doing piroutte :)  My daughter even wants me to play the Prima Princessa Swan Lake DVD over and over again.

What I loved about this DVD is that each ballet position segment is repeated twice to teach the children about the various ballet steps.  The dance moves demonstrated by the students of School of the American Ballet are easy to follow.  I also love that the Swan Lake performance was divided into a few chapters and there are between acts by little ballerinas jumping and dancing in their lovely tutus, tiaras and earrings.  This certainly makes it more interesting for the children.

Prima Princessa Swan Lake DVD is just perfect for children who love to dance.  It also makes a great gift for ballet lovers.  I have not seen such a DVD here in Kuala Lumpur.  Thanks to 2 creative mommies who created this fabulous DVD and make learning ballet so much fun and hip.  Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake is ranked #2 kids ballet DVD on Amazon.com. If you are interested in this delightful DVD, do visit PrimaPrincessa.com. You can also view a clip of the DVD at PrimaPrincessa.com/dvd-clip.html.

I would like to thank Mary Kate Mellow and Stephanie Troeller for giving me the opportunity to review the fun and educational Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD."

-Prima Princessa Productions, LLC- the hot spot for your ballet princess

NYC Waterfalls

Waterfalls in NYC! Absoultely amazing! We plan on bringing the kids in to see them in early August.

For more info check out the official website at www.nycwaterfalls.org and learn more about the artist, how the waterfalls actually work and details on visiting.

-Mary Kate-

The Mommy Blog Review

We are thrilled to have been recently reviewed, June 26, by the Mommy Blog. It is wonderful to hear how much fun someone's child has watching and dancing to "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake."

Mindy Roberts, the creator of this site, is an awesome and inspiring blogger who writes about her life as a sinlge mom of three children. Her book, Mommy Confidential: Adventures from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, derived from much of the material on her site, is a-must-read-this-summer-book.

Here's the review:

"I’ve been meaning to post about a DVD a reader sent to Daphne, knowing how much she likes princesses and…princesses. It’s called Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake, and is 'a hip, fun forty minute show for kids…Cool new twist on learning ballet, featuring the Paris Opera Ballet and students from the American School of Ballet.'

You know how educational/artsy videos usually fall into one of three categories? Too silly and not engaging enough to hold attention for the amount of time you need to shower or make dinner; too advanced for them to grasp the fun and purpose; and just right, but so short you have to spend all your time rewinding (or skipping the self-promotion that seems to take up half the tape).

Prima Princessa cleverly navigates each of these issues and offers short bursts of actual ballet lessons, scenes from the Paris Opera’s performance of Swan Lake, and adorable clips of little girls running around in tutus, imitating the dancers. Very, very cute.

Here’s the interesting part: I thought Daphne would be all over the little girls and not as much into the professional performance. Boy, was I wrong. (Well, I was right about one thing: she had to run for her ballet outfit so she could be properly attired while watching.)

For starters, she would not sit down to watch it. She stood in the middle of the living room floor, right in front of the TV, and studied that video to get all the moves down. She liked the little girls, enjoyed the classes, but was absolutely riveted by the ballet performance. Several times in a row, which was a score for me, because that meant 120 minutes of rapt enjoyment of educational entertainment while I scraped Lord knows what off the kitchen floors. Actually, that’s not true. I don’t scrape the floors because I know exactly what’s on them.

So I’ve got to agree with Cool Mom Picks that Prima Princessa is 'Swan Lake on a Budget.' Daphne has never expressed such interest in ballet before, and is now dying to go see a real performance. This is the ticket to getting your little ones to look forward to and sit still during The Nutcracker, or maybe even expanding their tastes so you can go to the ballet outside of the Christmas season.

One more thing to put on the list for Things To Do With Redeeming Social Value That Are Actually Fun!"

Prima Princessa Productions- the hot spot for you little ballerina princess

-Stephanie-

Christian Mommies Blog Review

A big thanks to Rachel Lower (a fellow busy mom and blogger extraordinaire) Christian Mommies for reviewing our DVD, "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake." Check out Christian Mommies if you are looking for a supportive online Christian community for moms.

Here's the review:

"Narrated by "Prima Princessa," this half hour instructional/entertaining DVD introduces young girls to ballet. Adults perform the fairy tale ballet 'Swan Lake,' while an animated ballerina named Prima Princessa softly relates what is happening in the story. The professional performance is broken up by fun, energizing breaks, in which ballet basics are taught by Prima Princessa and performed by a troupe of girls in fluffy tutus. This would be a great gift for any young ballerina, or would be ballerina, and would quickly become her favourite. Plus, if you have the room, she can get some exercise by dancing along. Now... where's my tutu?"

Prima Princessa Productions - the hot spot for you little ballerina princess

-Stephanie-

Kids Love Victoria Gardens NYC

Summer is here and it is just about time for our annual pilgrimage to Victoria Gardens. This adorable little amusement park takes over the ice skating rink in Central Park every summer. My kids and I like to go early mid-week when it is not too crowded. Daddy usually meets us afterwards for lunch. A few hours is plenty here. Make sure to call ahead to confirm it is open because occasionally is booked up for private parties.

-Mary Kate-

www.PrimaPrincessa.com- hot spot for your little ballet princess