Customer Reviews

Bella Dancerella Disney Princess Dance Studio

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have a very disappointed 4 year old. She took money to the toy store and was able to pick one item. After much deliberation, this was the clear favorite. Once home, I was sitting behind her while she stood on the mat expectantly and could watch her shoulders sinking. Finally, she turned around and said, "Mommy, when will the princess be on?" Except for a few scattered one and two second snippets, there are no princesses. Hoping that the DVD return policy doesn't apply to this toy.

Will your child learn to dance from this DVD: No.
Does Disney know how to milk Princesses for all their worth: Yes.
Should you buy this: Maybe.

As one review here states, don't buy this expecting to see unique animated footage of princesses dancing. There are clips here and there from various Disney movies but the majority of the footage is of an enthusiastic (and stocky!) woman accompanied by a phalanx of cherubic youngsters...dancing.

At first I was disappointed that the movie doesn't even attempt to teach any dance steps. The dance pad that comes with the set is used only in one song and then just barely to demonstrate Ballet's 1st through 3rd position. The wand that comes with the set is sturdy and cool but also doesn't factor into the video much. Still, our 4 year can't watch the video without the pad on the floor and the wand in hand.

So what you're left with is a fun video for the kids to (attempt to) dance along to. The dances are fast but after a few watches our daughter was doing her best to imitate the moves and begging us to dance with her. At least it's something that will get kids off the couch. I would guess that older children might be disappointed with the lack of instruction but younger ones will probably enjoy flailing around while they enjoy the video. In the end you have to admit that no DVD is going to be able to teach very young children to dance anyway.

Also note that the dress on the box does not come with the set.

I just had to write my own review after reading the other posts. My oldest daughter received this yesterday for her 4th birthday and she and her 2 year old sister just love it. I have to admit, when I first watched it, I thought that it seemed a bit advanced for my children since the dance instructions seem to go a bit fast, but my children didn't complain and I didn't buy it for myself, I bought it for them, so if they like it, that's all that matters to me. If your daughter thinks that this DVD is going to be animated, then this probably isn't for them, becuase there are just some snippets here and there, otherwise its mostly the dance instructor and little girls doing dance moves. But again, my girls didn't complain about this, and that's all that matters to me. And for the person who called the dance instructor "stocky", what are you teaching your children about body image? No wonder even young girls (and women) have such issues with their bodies! I think that she looks like a normal young lady.

If your little one enjoys watching an adult dance with a few older girls, then she'll likely enjoy this toy. I thought this offered up some instruction first, then do the dance together. That's not the case. Basically the folks on the DVD dance and your kid has to figure it out on her own! The mat is fairly useless if there's no instruction! My 4 year old watched this once, and that was it. What a waste of her birthday money! The manufacturers should feel ashamed to take money from a 4 year old on the pretense of teaching her how to dance "like a princess." How can you learn if noone teaches you? Can you imagine taking your child to a dance studio and your kid has to watch the teacher dance and then figure it out on her own? Buy this product - that's what you'll get.

My 4 year old loves this! She follows along with the actions, loves the music, and likes to watch the movie snippets that are integrated. It's nice that the DVD gets them dancing and moving. It shows girls her age dancing as well as the "leader" who is an older girl. Contains the best songs from the Disney princess movies.

I bought this for my 5 year old neice knowing how much she loved Disney's Princesses. Although she seemed to enjoy it, there's not much instruction, and its sort of difficult for a little girl who has never done these dances to catch on. But I'm sure by her 20th viewing she'll have figured it out. I was also surprised at how short it is. When it was over, she looked at me and said "that's it?" My heart sank. I was so excited to give this to her and when we opened it, I was telling her she'll learn to dance like the princesses. I've danced for years, and even I had trouble knowing what the next step was going to be. Overall, she'll have fun with it. It'll just take some time.

This was a gift for my 5 year old daughter for Christmas. There isn't really a lot of princess videos in it, but the main character "Bella" is very nice and I was thrilled to see that she was a NORMAL sized girl, not an anorexic sized "0" so its good self-image building for little girls. The instructions are a little confusing for a kindergardener, my daughter just dances along doing her own thing and enjoys it very much. Its good exercise for her, but the mat can slip easily on carpet or hardwood, so you might want to get a rubber mat foot to keep it in place. Make sure there is LOTS of room for her to dance around, they swing that wand REALLY far and if there's anything valuable (TV, china hutch, 2 year old little brother) around, MOVE IT or it WILL get whacked.

I found this for my 5 year old daughter on clearance at Walmart a few months ago and put it away for Christmas. She's played with it for a few hours and the dvd prompted me to come here and see what others thought. The dancers move too quickly for her to keep up and the wand only lights up and makes noise while you are pushing the button. There are hardly any appearances by the actual princesses, and only then they are clips from movies she's already seen 100 times. I purchased this for $12 and think it is about worth it, but I surely wouldn't pay the current price of $50.

My daughter got it for her 3rd birthday and now that she is 4, she still uses it very regularly! I know some reviews indicate that it won't teach a girl to dance - probably true, but since my daughter already takes dance lessons, it is a wonderful supplement. The moves can be fast, but over time she will pick it up if she's a quick learner. It is SO much better than the Barbie plug n' play mat with DVD my daughter received for her 4th birthday (that one plugs into the tv, but the quality is bad and the interactive feature doesn't work well at all).

I was a bit confused to see all of the negativity over this as my 4 year old got it for her birthday yesterday and LOVES it :) She made us watch it twice in a row, which is a rare occurance for anything so I know she loves this. She really doesn't care too much about the wand as it is somewhat heavy to hold and dance with, although she loves playing with it apart from the dance mat and video. The dances are fun and actually really aerobic. I know this because I did the video one time through with her and got a pretty good workout! I am glad she got this as I probably would not have bought it for her myself and I am sure that on rainy days and times when we have to be inside this will bring her much joy and fun! I know her playgroup friends will love it also!