Celebrity Baby Blog

Celebrity Baby Blog is packed full of adorable photos of our favorite celebrities and their children. We are thrilled to be featured on such a popular, entertaining blog. Thanks Teba! Check out the review from October 2, 2008. -Prima Princessa Productions - your hot spot for Children’s Ballet DVDs, a great gift for girls!

"Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake: Get Your Tot Twirling!"

"If you have a pre-schooler who loves to don a tutu and practice pirouettes then you will love the Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD. This 40-minute DVD features a performance of Swan Lake by the Paris Opera Ballet and instruction from students from the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, Offical Academy of New York City Ballet along with narration by an animated fairy ballerina named Prima Princessa. In between acts of Swan Lake, the children return home to learn simple ballet steps.

I love that this DVD gets my daughter up and dancing (no couch ballerina in our house!) and that she practices the steps (and remembers the names of them for the most part) throughout the day. The story of Swan Lake is also great for her because it teaches her sequence (she can recount it) which is a really important skill for pre-schoolers to learn. I also think the quality of this DVD is great despite it being made by two moms with no film-making experience -- pretty impressive! This DVD is a great introduction to a beautiful dance form."
-- Teba

A Moms Review

Thanks so much to A MOMS for such a wonderful review of our Children’s Ballet DVD! We are so pleased that you loved our Kids DVD! -Prima Princessa Productions-

June 11, 2008 Review From AMomsReview.com.

"Pure enchantment best describes the feeling I got while viewing the Children’s DVD Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake.

After a year long search brought them much disappointment, two amazing Moms from New Jersey set their passions to creating their own live performance ballet videos that would warm the hearts of children (and adults).

Mary Kate Mellow and Stephanie Troeller certainly put a new twist on this classical favorite. Featuring segments of the Paris Opera Ballet performing Swan Lake, and budding ballerinas in tutus from the School of American Ballet, Prima Princessa is great for ballet lovers of all ages.

This 40 minute video introduces you and your child to the art of ballet. Narrating each scene is one very chic animated Ballerina that kept both my girls on their toes and twirling around the room. With easy to learn dance moves including pirouettes, arabesques, and jetes your lil’ ballerina will soon be full of spins and giggles too.

Prima Princessa is an overall winner in our house, and we look forward to seeing more of what these aspiring Moms have planned in the future."

A Mom's Review describes itself very well as a great source for "honest reviews of popular, organic, practical and hip products, recall and fun finds for moms and their families." It's a great site to check out when you are looking for something unique. We are quite excited to their recent review of our DVD, "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake". Thanks AMomsReviews.com

Prima Princessa Productions- two movie moms making quality Children’s DVDs

www.PrimaPrincessa.com

Momelettes

Momelettes is a great website for fabulous techie tips! We could all use a little help.

Thanks to Momelettes for writing a review of our new Children’s Ballet DVD, which is ranked #1 for “Children’s Ballet DVDS” on amzon.com. Thanks for showing such an interest in how went about creating "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake." If you are interested in our journey check out the review below. -Prima Pricessa Productions

The review:

"All tech talk/organization aside, if there’s one OTHER thing I relish, it’s hearing stories of success. Such is the case when I got a copy of a children’s ballet DVD in my hands called “Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake”.

This children’s DVD is charming, and without even watching a single frame, the mere thought of nostalgia from my childhood days of tutu’s and my parents meeting their six-year old daughter backstage at dance recitals with flowers made me misty-eyed just thinking about it.

The 40-minute DVD starts with an introduction from the animated cartoon fairy, Prima Princessa. She then takes a gaggle of tutu-clad preschoolers through several acts of Swan Lake (performed by the Paris Opera Ballet), narrating the storyline while the dancers perform. Who knew Swan Lake had a more dizzying storyline than Desperate Housewives?

In between acts is the fun part, where obviously talented young students from the School of American Ballet teach basic ballet moves for the kids to try at home while they are watching this kids ballet dvd.

Zoe, my 14-month old loved it, and still continues to love it. As enthralled as a 14-month old can be with a movie, she watched the DVD, pointed at the fairy, and danced. Let me tell you, there is nothing cuter than watching your 14-month old dancing along with Swan Lake on the TV screen!

(Well, I do have something cuter. Sending my husband a text message asking “What’s up?” and getting back as a reply “we are now watching Swan Lake at Zoe’s request”. There’s just something really lovable about a visual of my husband sitting on the couch watching children’s ballet dvds with his daughter.)

Wanting to give the DVD a thorough test, I gave it to my neighbor to see if her 3 and 4 year old daughters liked it. I got it back a few days later with reports of plenty of repeat viewings!

What really struck me about this video, though, was not how much Zoe liked it. What got to me was that here was two women, like me, who had their hands full with kids and a busy life – yet they still had time to work together to visualize, create, produce, and SELL children’s DVDs. And here I am complaining that it’s hard to find time to sit down and reply to a few emails. Yes, ladies, THAT is what struck me.

I had to write to the creators, Mary Kate Mellow and Stephanie Troeller (http://www.primaprincessa.com) to find out the motive and the technicalities of their success.

Taking over one year to complete, Stephanie took her very convenient background as a ballet dancer and a cartoonist (talk about the right skills for the job!), and Mary Kate used her wits as a previously successful small business entrepreneur selling her own jewelry to Neiman Marcus, among others.

Among my curiousness of the creation process, the big question I had asked Mary Kate was how they had gotten the ballet footage. I mean, where you do even start Mary Kate was very quick to respond that in addition to about four-months’ work on a comprehensive business plan, they spent many hours researching via Internet and telephone. Apparently, the answer is painfully simple – you need to spend the time it takes to do some clever Google searching, and then you pick up the phone.

My next question was, when did they find the time? It took many dedicated babysitters, and many late nights after the kids were asleep.

If you are of an entrepreneurial spirit, remember that Mary Kate and Stephanie started with a need – there were no decent ballet dvds for children. The other strength they had was a partnership. One of the problems I had was that I tried to be an entrepreneur by myself, while Mary Kate and Stephanie have proven that teamwork and positive energy pays off - and they have the Princess to prove it!

My hats are off to Mary Kate and Stephanie for their great children’s ballet dvd. They have proven that no matter who you are, or what you do, if you are willing to work hard, you can dream, envision, and create a product for others to enjoy.

If you want to find out more, you can visit their press page at http://www.primaprincessa.com/press.html."

Babyccino

Looking to add a little glamour to your life? Check out this fun blog. Four friends, each living in a different European city, blog about their lives as moms. Thanks to Esther for mentioning our Children’s DVD in her recent post. -Prima Princessa Productions- Home of great Children’s Ballet DVDs and DVDs for Kids.

Here's an excerpt:

".......We have been watching her (daughter) favourite Kids DVD of the moment ‘Swan Lake by Prima Princessa‘ over and over again, so I knew the story of prince Siegfried, his lovely Odette and the nasty Baroness of Rothbart nearly by heart!

I must tell you, it is very endearing to see my little duckling in her little ballet outfit. And she takes the whole thing so very seriously, as does her teacher! Mums are not allowed to see the lesson — that would only be distracting. Also, apparently sometimes the mothers can get a little too involved (’keep those fingers out of your nose, Bella, and put your shoulders back’)! So, we have to wait patiently in the dressing room until our little ballerinas are ready for the big show, later this year…?Let’s hope it will be Swan Lake!....."

Scribbit- Motherhood in Alaska

"And finally I was sent a new children’s video to review and this one will be a favorite of any future ballerinas you may have in the house. Prima Princessa is a 40 minute Children’s Ballet DVD of live action ballet scenes from Swan Lake featuring the Paris Opera Ballet (you can see a clip here). Lillian thought it was fun--she was twirling all afternoon. So, I'm going to break this up into two drawings, the first name drawn will get the Crazy Creek chair and the second winner will get the Wupzey high chair food catcher and the Prima Princessa Kids DVD--seems a logical way to divide up the goods. Here's how to win: Before 12 am Monday go to the giveaway entry form on this page and enter your name and email. I will pick one of the names at random, contact the winner via their email and publish the winner's first name and home town in next Tuesday's post. See the bottom of the entry form for more details. This giveaway is open to all readers so good luck!"

SAHM Reviews Blog

Check out this site for wonderful in depth reviews of products of interest to parents. We are thrilled to have our Children’s Ballet DVD reviewed by a fellow SAHM (stay-at-home-mom).

Here's the review from Saturday August 9, 2008:

"Mom! I'm a Swan!

"It's that time of year when we need to register for new activities. The girls are young so we try to rotate the activities and expose them to a variety. This fall, both Miss M and Miss K will be participating in soccer and swimming. Despite my love of dance and my desire to have them follow in my footsteps, I didn't enroll them this year. All last year they did ballet and tap culminating in a spring recital. But I don't want to burn them out at such a tender age. There are plenty of years and opportunities to get involved.

The girls do take after me in that they love to dance. When Stephanie and Mary Kate were looking for people to review Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake, I emphatically waved my digital hand in the air yelling "Pick me! Pick me!" If you have girls, you might have already heard of Prima Princessa. If not, here's the gist - It's a hybrid presentation on DVD. Part entertainment, part education. It may be more appropriate to say that it is education under the guise of entertainment. It consists of a presentation of Swan Lake by The Paris Opera Ballet broken into acts. The acts are further broken up by mini ballet lessons explaining and demonstrating different ballet moves. The entire Children’s Ballet DVD is narrated by a youth-friendly voice and cartoon fairy princess.

We were visiting my MIL in Alabama when I pulled out the surprise Chidlren’s DVD for the girls to watch. I told them it was ballet and they immediately started to dance around. Even as I popped it into the DVD player and started it up, they continued their energetic twirling. I figured they were too wired and not even paying attention. Apparently I was wrong because the second the narrator said "In between each act, you get to dress up in fun pretty tutus" they tore out of the room.

I paused to see what the commotion was about, only to find that the girls had raced into the guest room and began to frantically rummage through the chest of dress up clothes that Grammy had purchased for them. A minute later, they returned to the family room all decked out and ready to watch.

Their mouths dropped open and they were mesmerized. Not only did they pay attention to the ballet, but they asked appropriate questions: Miss K - "If he don't (SIC) find her, what's going to happen?" They also repeated the tutorial words like "Peer-oh-ette" and mimicked the student dancers. I tried to take a few pictures but was chastised by Miss M when I tried to get her to hold still for a snapshot. "Mom! I'm a Swan!"

When it was over, Miss M said "I really liked it" and they both exclaimed in unison

'I want to do it again.' Which they did. Even when my BIL stopped by, they insisted on retelling the story and firing it up again so he could watch it.

Well, as I typed this review (back home again), a neighbor showed up with her 4 year old daughter and 18 month old son, along with two 4 year old girls she was babysitting. After playing outside for a bit, I invited them in and we popped in Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake. If you could only have seen our family room filled with 6 children dancing along with the ballet and students!

The Children’s Ballet DVD was a hit with all the kids and I enjoyed it as well. I hate to admit that I've never bothered to watch any performance of Swan Lake so it turned out to be a learning experience for me too! I highly recommend this for any family with kids who love to dance.

Stephanie and Mary Kate were so kind as to offer an additional Kid’s DVD to one of my lucky readers! WooHoo! As always, you'll need to follow some rules to be able to participate. Thankfully, it's easy!"

Just A Mom's Take on Things

Thanks for the great review of our Children’s Ballet DVD and we love the adorable photos!- Prima Princessa Productions

Here's the review from August 7, 2008:

"Review and Giveaway - Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake Kids Ballet DVD"

Posted on August 7th, 2008 by Deb

"There’s something about little girls and dancing that seem to go hand-in-hand. I know that my mom put me in dance classes about as soon as I started elementary school, and I loved twirling, kicking and stepping to the music. And my own girls are no exception.

When I received the opportunity to review the Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake Children’s Ballet DVD, I knew that my girls would love it. What I didn’t expect was how much they would LOVE it.

What it is:

This Kids Ballet DVD is the project of two stay-at-home moms who, inspired by their children’s love of dance, teamed up (despite no prior movie-making experience) to produce it. It’s described as, “a hip new twist on learning about ballet, featuring the Paris Opera Ballet and Students from School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, Official Academy of New York City Ballet”, and as “a cool, fun, beautiful show with a brain”.

The 40-minute Children’s Ballet DVD features an animated fairy ballerina who takes viewers on a journey to see the Paris Opera Ballet perform select segments of Swan Lake. In between acts, basic ballet steps are shown and there’s an opportunity for kids to get up and dance along to the colorful montages of toys, animals, children and dancers from the School of American ballet.

Here’s my our take on it:

My daughters and I were enchanted by this Chidlren’s DVD from the very first moment. The ‘Prima Princessa’ character is fun, cute and engaging - and does a very good job of narrating the ballet scenes for viewers who aren’t familiar with the story of Swan Lake. I haven’t seen the ballet myself - and and the narration really helped to bring the story to life. I also think that my daughters would probably have grown bored of just ballet scenes (as lovely as they are) after a while - but the narration, and the breaks between acts where they could get up and dance themselves, make a huge difference in keeping them interested and excited to watch.

We had to pause the Kids DVD for a few minutes to allow my older girls to change into their ‘ballerina’ outfits. Although we don’t have tutus like the children in the movie, we do have one dance outfit - and my older daughter improvised to create one for herself as well. Then they twirled, leapt, and kicked their way around the living room throughout the rest of the DVD:

Even my 2-year-old wanted to join in and dance with her sisters.

And they’ve asked to watch it again. And again. So far their only disappointment has been when their ‘dance clothes’ aren’t clean for them to wear while watching and dancing.

The bottom line:

So many movies and videos nowadays just involve passive participation or don’t necessarily do a good job of inspiring kids to actually get up and move. This one not only successfully gets kids moving, but it also introduces them to the world of ballet and educates them on a few simple ballet terms and steps as well. The ballet scenes tell the story of Swan Lake, and also show kids what ballet is really all about - telling a story through dance. I can see children of all ages enjoying this Children’s Ballet DVD- and although it’s geared more toward girls, there are boy dancers featured in the School of American Ballet segments, and in Swan Lake itself, of course. I can see boys dancing along right with the girls as well."

Babble

We are thrilled to have our Children’s DVD reviewed by our first dad blogger. "Modern Day Dad" whose review posted on the very hip site for parents, Babble.

Here is the review:

'"Taking a break from the (sometimes) mind-numbing confines of Nick Jr. and Noggin can be a good thing, and if you've got a little girl who is deep in the throws of princess mania, you might want to check this out. Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake is a Children’s DVD aimed squarely at these little girls, and does something that I wasn't expecting. It doesn't try to teach ballet, nor does it present a professional performance of Swan Lake without explaining what is going on. What it does do quite well is convey the beauty and fun of ballet (and the classical music it is based on) without boring the kids watching it. The forty minute program is broken down into two alternating parts - one that shows the individual acts of Swan Lake as performed by the Paris Opera Ballet, and then another that shows young girls (and one boy) performing the individual ballet steps. During the Swan Lake segments there is a voice-over explaining what is happening in terms of the story, which not only makes it easy for kids to understand, but also for those of us who don't make it to the ballet as often as we should. The other segments feature children from the School of American Ballet showing the ballet positions and other steps, as well as what those steps are based on. My four year old daughter seemed to really enjoy the entire program, and even asked me to play it again after it was over. For her it's hard to miss with a princess story and video of young kids doing ballet. My two year old daughter was mildly interested, though it really wasn't the sort of program designed to keep the attention of someone her age. From my perspective, the voice-over (the voice of "Prima Princessa" herself) was a little annoying after a while and the overall production quality still has that "indie video" feel, but having a kids DVD where the soundtrack was entirely made up of classical music was a really nice change of pace. Overall, I think if you've got a daughter or young girl in your life aged 3 or above who you suspect would probably enjoy something like this, it's a safe bet that she will. At the very least it's worth checking out a clip on the web site.'

Thanks again Chris for the great review of our Children’s DVD!- Prima Princessa, home of fun Kids DVDs and Children’s Ballet DVDs.-

Licorice Mint

This great review of our Kid’s DVD is from Licorice Mint all the way in Australia . The word is spreading!

Thanks! – Prima Princessa-

"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 this Children’s Ballet DVD 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."

The Parenting Club

Parenting Club is a '"Great resource for expectant parents and new parents as well as those trying to conceive" and we are thrilled they have reviewed us this month. -Mary Kate

Check it out:

'"What is "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake"? This 40-minute kid's DVD is a hip, fun, beautiful show with a brain. Prima Princessa, an animated fairy ballerina, magically transports a group of little girls to see the Paris Opera Ballet perform select segments of Swan Lake. In between acts, the children return home to learn simple ballet steps, which are playfully shown mixed into colorful montages of toys, animals, children and young dancers from the School of American Ballet, the official academy of the New York City Ballet. "Prima Princessa Productions, LLC-Home of fun Children’s Ballet DVDs.'

Busy Mommy Product Reviews

Looking for adorable tutus as well as great product reviews then check out this site. This blogger is multitalented. Crafting gorgeous tutus as well as writing engaging posts. - Mary Kate

Here is the review from July 27, 2008:

"So I have a secret- I don't like ballet. Sort of absurd since I make tutus, right? Well, it's not entirely that I don't like ballet. I mean I find the movement and costumes beautiful. And I bet I would love the story if I knew what the heck the story was, but when I see a ballet, it just does not come together for me.

I was pretty excited to get to review Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake. I figured if it is a DVD for kids then it must be more user friendly than other ballet videos I have seen.

Well, let me tell you it is really neat. First and foremost, I now know the story of Swan Lake. I have seen the ballet before and honestly, did not know what the story was (and for those of you wondering, I am actually a smart person, ballet is just hard for me to understand). Second, it is just really fun. Third, my 14 month old daughter sat through the ENTIRE THING and seemed to actually like it (she clapped when the girls on screen clapped-it was super cute).

Prima Princessa, an animated fairy ballerina, magically transports a group of little girls to see the Paris Opera Ballet performs select segments of Swan Lake. In between acts, the children return home to learn simple ballet steps which are playfully shown mixed into colorful montages of toys, animals, children and young dancers from the School of American Ballet.

I have to admit that the fact that this DVD was produced by two stay-at-home moms with no prior movie-making experience intrigued me even more. Mary Kate Mellow and Stephanie Troeller were inspired by their children's love of dance. They could not find ballet movies that were appropriate for their children, so they made their own. Amazing, huh?

They also have a blog where you can read about their journey."

Maria's Space

Thanks Maria for the great Review of our Kid’s Ballet DVD on your fab blog this past Sunday, July 27, 2008.

Here it is:

"I was very fortunate to have been able to review, a wonderfully crafted DVD by two amazing moms from my old home state, New Jersey. Introducing: Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake. This Kids DVD is just what this mom ordered. I took ballet as a child and have been recently trying to plant the dance bug in my 3 year old daughter’s ear. You can only give her so many tutu’s and princess things while asking “do you want to take ballet this year?” Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake features a cartoon ballerina who narrates Swan Lake for us. Swan Lake, being performed by the Paris Opera Ballet is beautifully done. In between acts, we are treated to various ballet steps all set to a montage of toys, animals, children and young dancers for the viewer to learn. My daughter particularly loved the segments of little girls running around and laughing in their tutus. This 40 minute DVD has enough to keep the preschool age child all the way up to Grandma’s age interested. I organized a play date with my girlfriend so that my 3 year old could watch it with a friend (a 9 year old dancer student). The plan was to have the girls watch the movie while we continued our own play date over at the dining room table with coffee and our laptops. We started the tape and were completely sucked in. So much so that we took our respective places next to our daughters and watched the whole movie with them.

While the movie was playing I heard my girlfriend’s daughter tell her mom that she wants to stay in ballet (she had been thinking of dropping it because she doesn’t love her teacher). BTW…I really wish someone had been able to take a picture of the 4 of us lying on the floor, taking up the whole little room, mesmerized by the Children’s DVD. I love how the girls watched the movie, laying down listening to every part of it. I had originally thought that they would be dancing the whole time. Afterwards, they put on tutu’s and danced around the room, hallway, kitchen and dining room. This is a great way to introduce dance to your little one or to reinforce someone’s love for dance."

Star Ledger

A review of the Children’s Ballet DVD "Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake" ran in the "Parental Guidance Section" of the Star Ledger paper this May and is up on their website as well. Thanks to Peggy for the press onour new Children’s DVD!

Review:

'"Parental Guidance" section
DVD helps kids dance "Swan Lake"
Posted by Peggy O'Crowley May 26, 2008 4:06AM

"Many little girls go through a ballet phase (a few years before the horse phase), and this DVD will appeal to the prima ballerina in all of them.

"Prima Princessa Swan Lake" features the Paris Opera Ballet performing child-friendly excerpts from "Swan Lake," students from the School of American Ballet demonstrating basic steps, and scenes of little girls and an animated ballerina. The DVD is the pas de deux of Montclair "funky stay-at-home moms turned indie movie producers" Mary Kate Mellow and Stephanie Troeller. The two had dance-mad daughters and couldn't find anything for them to watch, so they created their own DVD.

The $20 Children’s Ballet DVD can be purchased at Capezio outlets and through amazon.com and primaprincessa.com."

Prima Princessa Children's Ballet DVDs. Kid's DVDs your child will love. We're all about Children's DVDs. Wonderful Kid's Ballet DVDs.