Barbie, Ballet and the Twelve Dancing Princesses
Posted on September 25, 2006
Barbie hits the small screen with the release of Mattel Entertainment's sixth full-length, direct-to-DVD Barbie princess tale, Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses." The concept for the video is actually pretty cool. The dance sequences are all choreographed and performed by the New York City Ballet.
Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses is the third time Barbie and the New York City Ballet have partnered to bring realistic dance movements choreographed by NYCB's ballet master in chief Peter Martins and performed by principal dancer Maria Kowroski onto the small screen via motion-capture technology. So, the ballet sequences will be top-notch. There is also an interactive product with a dance mat that allows girls to learn dance steps.
Barbie is Princess Genevieve in the animated film. She is the seventh sister of 12 beautiful princesses who live with their father, the King, in a castle. The castle is full of dancing, music and fun until the King's cousin Rowena comes to live with them and changes the rules, including banning dancing and music. It sounds like an animated Barbie princess version of Footloose.
Now we know you're worried that there won't be any tie-in merchandise that you can buy for your little girls when they start whining about it, but relax! Mattel has thoughtfully provided an absolute plethora of toys that tie into the video including dolls, dance mats, playsets and more. We're suckers for a) ballet b) Barbie and c) matched sets of things. We are seriously doomed this upcoming holiday season.