My First Ballet: Sleeping Beauty

On Good Friday the Culturebabies and I headed over to the Peacock Theatre to see the latest in English National Ballet School's inspired series of child-friendly ballets. My First Ballet, now in its 5th year, features a shortened version of the full ballet, with additional narration, intended to introduce the youngest of children to the classics. We'd been really excited to see Swan Lake last year but, due to a fire in Holborn, the London leg had been cancelled. So with a year's worth of anticipation, the girls donned their tutus and we made a great day of it. 

This unique collaboration between English National Ballet and English National Ballet School was particularly exciting for four year old Culturebaby as we are lucky enough to be able to attend one of the ENB's Junior ballet classes (currently in Chelsea, Richmond and Putney). These fabulous classes, run by highly trained professionals and featuring a real pianist, are also part of the ENBS so this term Culturebaby has been studying the Sleeping Beauty to tie in with what the older students are performing. It's amazing for a four year old to feel like they are part of a much bigger endeavour and see what their hard work could achieve. My First Ballet isn't danced by ENB professionals, it is created by English National Ballet’s Associate Artist George Williamson and performed by second year students from English National Ballet School. This means there is the odd wobble, but what an inspiration for a mini-ballerina starting out!

The production has so many elements that are perfect to capture the imagination of even the youngest child (two year old Culturetot was just as captivated as the older children). The costumes are stunning and the tutus, so important to little people, are spectacular - with just the right level of sticky-outiness for any toddler to covet every one. The set was also beautifully designed. There's no dumbing down here; this is no pantomime. Whilst there is humour, the young audience is treated with a significant level of trust and respect. Whilst the ballet is shortened and a narrator is added, this served to bring out the best in the performance and highlight elements even adults might not normally notice. Cleverly, the narrator is Aurora herself, looking back over the fairy tale of her youth. I was particularly impressed by the way that the narration pointed out the unique sign-language of the ballet (perhaps lost on many of us). Move by move, certain signs were highlighted as part of the tale, introducing the youngest viewer to the lexicon of the dance.

Culturebaby is rather old-school in her tastes. Whilst other children are single-minded in their devotion to Frozen, she prefers the older classic tales and Sleeping Beauty is amongst her favourites. It is such a simple story to follow and is so well known, that it works extremely well as a child-friendly ballet. Though it has a princess and an adventure, it fortunately features strong female characters in the roles of the fairies, and a malevolent character who must be overcome in the form of the evil fairy Carabosse (not Disney's Maleficent of course). There's even cameo appearances from Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf and Puss in Boots. The Peacock Theatre is large enough for the ballet to feel authentic and a real treat. The only downside was that the ENB school's budget doesn't seem to extend to a live orchestra - the music is recorded (but still of high quality).

The material that the ENB has produced to accompany the production was also great (the programme contained the story as well as a version using symbols, games and ballet positions to learn. Their website also includes some great resources including these fantastic free printable ballet position flash cards. 

We also prepared in advance with some selected reading. In particular I'd recommend James Mayhew's Ella Bella and Sleeping Beauty, which is part of a series about a little ballerina who, aided by a magical musical box, becomes part of the ballets she is dancing; aiding the heros and heroines of the pieces and helping to save the day. The brilliance of these books, other than their gorgeous illustrations and the fact that they feature a kindred soul for our little ballerinas, is that they also stick to the non-Disneyfied plot of the original ballet. I'd also recommend Usborne's Ballet Stories for Bedtime, containing a selection of well known and less well known ballet tales. 

We've also found that one of the best ways to prepare for a ballet (so evident with our trips to see ENB's exquisite Nutcracker with the girls at Christmas) is to play the full ballets in the background at home. They are easy on the ear, full of distinctive tunes and the children seem to absorb the scores without realising it - evident in the theatre as they hum along.

I'd thoroughly recommend My First Ballet for children as young as two and suspect we will be going for a good few years as they serve as such effective introductions to so many aspects of each classic production. It's also great news that they tour round the country and are accessible to tiny ballerinas nationwide. Dates and further information can be found here.

Disclaimer: We received out tickets in exchange for a review. As always all views are very much our own. All photographs of the ballet are featured courtesy of the English National Ballet School.

A Literary Advent

Advent is one of our favourite times of the year and we've been enjoying creating some of our own special family traditions since Culturebaby arrived, some inspired by our own childhood, and others entirely new. This year she's been really getting into creating the Jesse Tree (read about this here) and learning about the rich tapestry of Old Testament heroes and villains. We've also been doing some Snowman themed imaginative play (see here) and seeing as much live music and theatre as we can.

I've also produced a couple of seasonal sorting and posting games for the girls to enjoy together. The Paperchase sale is often a sensory play goldmine and last year's booty consisted of neon sets of Christmas Tree-shaped decorations. These have been played with over and over in the last few days. For Culturetot they have made a great posting activity - plus some early colour-matching awareness - whilst Culturebaby has been developing her fine motor skills by hanging them from small hooks. The girls have also loved playing with miniature present boxes, non-breakable baubles and spangly pine cones. I've noticed they have been playing really collaboratively with these materials too, which has been lovely to watch after a year of crowd management.

We also have a couple of basic card nativity play sets that Culturebaby has been enjoying and are easy to pop into the Mass survival kit. Rod Campbell's My First Nativity Set is simple and gorgeous, and with additional Christmas story with pop out shapes Roger Priddy's Nativity Play Set is even more versatile.

One of our favourite new traditions this advent, and given its success it will no doubt become an annual thing, is our literary advent calendar. I can't take credit for this inspired idea, which I've seen done numerous times across the web, but it has been an absolute winner for the girls and I'd highly recommend it. It is such a simple idea - select and wrap 25 Christmas books (which can include those already in your own collection), pile them up in a Christmas tree shape, and each day unwrap and read one together as a family. It has been a wonderful way to explore the many facets of the magic of advent and Culturebaby has been thoroughly excited by her breakfast unwrapping ritual.

We've been really lucky this year to receive a haul of fabulous books to review and I've done a spot of charity shop foraging so we had a great selection to choose from. Given the ages of the girls I ensured that we had a mix of board books, touchy-feely and noisy titles, activity and sticker books for Culturebaby, stories and poems. I also made sure that we had a number of titles exploring the nativity story as well as tales of joy and goodwill of the season, Father Christmas, books featuring much loved characters and a few classics thrown in.  Here's our selection this year:

For one year old Culturetot I included two versions of the Christmas Story - a lovely little cloth book and The Christmas Cat by Su Box, which narrates the nativity from the perspective of a cat from Bethlehem. This cute ginger pet is removable and slots into each of the scenes as a simple jigsaw. It is a beautifully accessible introduction to Christmas for tots. I also added a couple of gorgeous finger puppet books Spot's Snowy Fun by Eric Hill and The Snowman and the Snowdog by Raymond Briggs. Both girls have enjoyed animating these well-known friends and it has been lovely to watch Culturebaby narrate the simple stories to her sister. Other titles that are great for both girls to enjoy together have been Dear Santa - Rod Campbell's Christmas version of the classic Dear Zoo, and the rhyming The Christmas Star by Sam Childs. Culturetot also adores noisy books with buttons and can regularly be witnessed toddling over to books such as Usborne's gorgeous The Nutcracker, pressing one of the buttons and spinning in circles to the music. This great introduction to the story within the famous ballet was already a firm favourite with Culturebaby and when I found this noisy version I couldn't leave it in the shop. I've also popped in a musical copy I bought of Usborne's 12 Days of Christmas for the girls to unwrap on Christmas day.

For Culturebaby I included a few great activity books in addition to stories. Sticker books, as many the parent of a two or three year old will attest, are the saving grace of many a necessarily quiet or patient situation and Usborne produce some of the very best. I wrapped up a winter-themed set and we were also sent a Christmas Market First Sticker book. This series is simple to use and allows little people the chance to use their imagination and also exercise some artistic control over their own work. If I detach the appropriate sheet of stickers Culturebaby can manage these herself now; or they provide great opportunities for detailed conversation and a cuddle when we complete the scenes together. I was also delighted to receive a Christmas with Miffy activity book for her which is due for discovery shortly. This series is great. The activities involving stickers, simple counting and colouring and matching are perfect for a three year old and accompanies the classic Miffy books brilliantly.


One of the first story parcels Culturebaby unwrapped was the gorgeous newly reworked edition of the classic Miffy in the Snow. These lovely new versions, released bit by bit over the last few months, contain Bruna's original illustrations and a text re-worked by poet Tony Mitton for today's generation of children. Culturebaby adores them and regularly looks through her collection herself. She loves the size and shape of the books as well as their contents. Miffy in the Snow is one of the lovelier tales too, where Miffy helps a little bird to find a snug home to protect it from the cold. This theme of goodwill and community care was also reflected amongst much-loved characters in a number of the other gorgeous new titles we received to review. Angelina's Christmas features our favourite little ballerina bringing Christmas cheer to a lonely old mouse who in turn delights hoardes of little mice with his Father Christmas costume. The message is an extremely positive one - that if a child thinks about others at Christmas and includes the lonely or poor, everyone will be all the more joyful for this kindness, including the giver. Snow Day by Richard Curtis also features a heartwarming tale about a lonely boy who turns up to school unaware that it is closed. He is met by his least favourite teacher and both are trapped together for the day. However, misery is turned to joy as the two realise that, in fact, they enjoy each other's company and work as a great snow-sculpting team. It changes their relationship for the better and rather than dreading another such day, the two plan ahead in anticipation of the following year's snow day.

Culturebaby was also delighted to receive a couple of simple tales about the excitement of gift-giving and preparation for Christmas Day. Happy Christmas Peter Rabbit, a sturdy board book featuring some of her favourite friends from the animation inspired by Potter's wonderful characters was an instant hit, as was Usborne's Lift the Flap Christmas from their farmyard tales series, which Culturebaby really likes. The latter as also really attractive to Culturetot, who is just coming into the stage where she enjoys books with flaps and hidden pictures to uncover.

I also can't wait for Culturebaby to discover, hidden amongst the pile, one of her favourite books, Katie's London Christmas, which was begrudgingly returned to the library last week. James Mayhew's thoroughly inspired series of Katie books feature a little girl who jumps into art or witnesses scultptures springing to life and embarks on wonderful adventures in these new and vibrant worlds. When asked about her favourite book, at the moment Culturebaby will invariably say Katie, and she loves this Christmas tale where Katie and her little brother stumble across Father Christmas in need of help, and they join him on a dash across a number of famous London locations. Mayhew's illustrations are detailed and beautiful and his stories have inspired my little lady with a love of figurative art, for which I'm immensely grateful.


Finally I threw in a few classic tales and versions of the nativity story for Culturebaby. Dick Bruna's The Christmas book combines his iconic illustrative style with the classic tale of Christmas; whilst Christmas Story by Roger Priddy has always been a favourite with Culturebaby as it features a nativity play with photographs of real children acting the roles. Mortimer's Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson is a new find - the nativity story told through the eyes of a little mouse who finds a comfy place to sleep in the manger of a family's nativity scene. He keeps turfing the host of statues and baby Jesus out of his new cosy home, until he hears the tale of Christmas and the story of there being no room at the inn for the Christ child... We were also delighted to have inherited from Culturedad's childhood a beautiful story about Fr Christmas who is discovered taking a snooze by a group of animals who fear that Christmas may no longer happen. Father Christmas goes on to explain to them the true meaning of Christmas - that it would go on without Santa, and his presents. The animals listen in awe to Santa's Favourite Story and their Christmas will never be quite the same again. I also couldn't leave out my original copy of childhood classic and brilliantly inventive creation from the Ahlberg's - The Jolly Christmas Postman. Featuring a mammoth delivery task for the Postman across the whole of fairy tale land and starring a host of colourful well-known characters, this ingenious book encloses real letters and presents. Its one of those books I buy for others; an absolute classic. And then finally of course for Christmas Eve, what better than a copy of the famous poem Twas The Night Before Christmas? We'd love to hear about your favourite Christmas reads and wish you a lovely literary Christmas...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

 As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

A Visit From St Nicholas By Clement Clarke Moore 

 Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Inc., 1983) 

Disclaimer: We received copies of 10 of the 25 books we list for review purposes from Usborne, Orchard Books, Penguin and Simon and Schuster to whom we are very grateful. As always all views are my own.