Customer Reviews

Prima Princessa: Swan Lake

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What I like so much about this video is that it completely satisfies my 3yr old who is hungry for any and all items related to being a princess/ballerina. I find it very hard to stomach all the Disney princess stuff (I disagree with much of the content), and I think this is a great alternative. It provides a way to introduce her to the arts while also allowing her to feel like a princess, in the imaginary sense. The video is a mix of an actual performance of Swan Lake that breaks here and there with video footage of young children practicing ballet moves. This keeps it interesting for young children whose attention span is short.

We got this DVD for our 3 year old who loves to dress-up and play princess. She loves it, of course. Our 9 year old was not expecting to like the video at all but the "real live ballerinas" were mesmerizing & she has declared Prima Princessa is "fabulous!" Thank you for a video both girls can enjoy together!

I was really excited to review this video, with three girls in the family ballerinas are loved. At first I sat down with my older two girls to watch it, and half way through the video the younger two kids came and sat down.
This is a really great way to introduce Ballet to children of all ages. The video starts of with Prima Princess who narrates the story. The video features the Paris Opera Ballet performing four acts of Swan Lake. In between each act, their are children from the school of American Ballet who show you how to do specific ballet steps. There are four steps taught:

* Pirouette- to turn
* jete`- to jump
* pas de chat - step of the cat
* grand battement- big kick

Each step is spoken and then illustrated by the child ballerinas, then there are scenes to reinforce what each step means. For instance-Jete` means to jump, they then showed a cat jumping etc. I really liked how each step was shown and then reinforced repeatedly. In between the acts are scenes of small little girls dressed up in their tutus dancing around and laughing.
I really thought this was a great video, and even though it says ages 3-6 all my kids liked certain parts. My older daughters (8) and (6) enjoyed the ballerinas performing, while the youngest (20 months) liked to watch when the little girls danced and played.

Disclaimer- I was given a copy of this to review for blog purposes. I was not paid for this post. [...]

I bought this DVD for my 3 year old granddaughter after reading the rave reviews, but I was disappointed. Two aspects of the program left me wanting more. It was great to see the professional ballerinas, and also the (approx.) 10 - 12 year old students demonstrating the first positions and a few movements, but then they also continually cut to a group of 4 - 5 year olds dressed in tutus prancing around outdoors free-form and acting silly. These scenes are cute, but did not help my 3 year old relate to the fact that she is expected to follow the movements and instruction of her teacher when she goes to ballet class. It really would have been better if they had shown a teacher with the girls, and showed them at least attempting to follow along.

The second thing which I felt was not helpful to my 3 year old, was that during the demonstration by the older students of the first positions and a few movements, the producer continually cut to scenes of live animals to convey the concepts of numbers and movements. This really wasn't necessary, and just confused and distracted my granddaughter who was initially very interested in watching the student's movements.

I have wanted my daughter to take ballet classes since she was born, but my husband says the same thing every time I mention it " I cannot see paying $65 every month, when she can dance at home for free". Men, they just don't get it! If I am being realistic I understand that as a family of six we really can't afford that, but I still want her to learn ballet.....

Enter Prima Princessa... If you are like me and want your little princess to learn the fine art and discipline of ballet but can't take out a second mortgage to pay for lessons (which I don't recommend) this DVD is for you! I can not say enough good things about it, but I will try!

First of all Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake is only 6.99, that is unbelievable for a DVD! Secondly the way it's put together is so simple (as in it interests my 22 month old) yet so sophisticated! I was quite shocked when I hit play and realized we would be watching actual ballerinas from the school of American Ballet preform Swan Lake, and I'll admit I wondered if it would keep her attention, which it did! I think I enjoyed watching it as much as she did!

But the best part (aside from the animated ballerina who narrates the DVD) is that it engages your little "student" of ballet and gets her involved in the movements all while teaching basic ballet terminology!It's like the Baby Einstein of ballet!

This DVD has really encouraged me to do all I can to teach her about ballet, even if I can't afford formal lessons! I even plan to buy the the Prima Princessa
Ballet For Beginners Book so I can learn more about ballet!

The quality of this DVD is wonderful, you can tell a lot of thought went into making it and gearing it to teach and entertain little girls. The real ballet shown with clips of ballet vocabulary and of kids dancing around works perfectly.

Do you have a little ballerina in your house? Are tutus & pliés part of your daily routine? Then you will love Prima Princessa presents Swan Lake! Created by 2 stay at home moms, this video is targeted toward budding young ballerinas. The 4o minute DVD features a fun cartoon ballerina named Princess Princessa. Princess Princessa guides viewers through a performance of Swan Lake, which is performed by the world famous Paris Opera ballet. My 3 yr old started go get restless after a few minutes of the ballet, but her attention was renewed with the intermission. Between acts of the ballet, the video cuts to tutu-clad preschoolers dancing about outside. My daughter was mesmerized and wanted to get up and dance around herself. I liked how it got her out of the chair and dancing around. They also teach about the basics of ballet. My daughter isn't ready to learn the positions yet, but she did enjoy dancing around. I think I need to get her a pretty pink tutu so she can pretend she's in the video. So the younger ones can enjoy the dancing and Princess Princessa flitting around and the older kids can learn about the story of Swan Lake. I would say this is ideal for 3-8 years, although some older or younger might enjoy it.Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake

The segments of Swan Lake performance included in the video are absolutely beautiful. I wish there were more. In between the segments the video shows 4-5 basic ballet movements, each demonstrated by ballet students and other real life objects doing similar things (like a top spinning or a tiger jumping). They are all nice to watch. The fairy that is leading the whole video has an annoying voice and laughter, but that's to be expected for a children's video. The 'audience' of the ballet performance are a bunch of little girls dressed up in tutus and they are silly and cute, just as they should be. A very entertaining video even for adult viewers. A nice way to expose your children to real classic ballet, but not one from which you would expect them to learn.

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.

This 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).

This is a great way to introduce dance to your little one or to reinforce someone's love for dance.

For more on this review head over to my blog at http://reesspace.blogspot.com

My daughters are 7 and 10, they both started dancing at 3. I wasn't sure if they would like this dvd, but they both loved it. Especially my 7 year old.

It is very well done, interweaving Swan Lake, ballet lessons and adorable pre-school girls dancing around learning ballet steps.

This is a great dvd to introduce your child to professional ballet. Swan lake is a delightful story!

This dvd is perfect for ages 3 and up. As soon as you pop it in, your child will be twirling around, dancing to the music. Plus Prima Princessa is an adorable cartoon character that takes them throughout the video. What kid wouldn't love her, adorable.

I can't wait for the next dvd from these two moms!