Angelina Ballerina Cross Stitch - Innocent Dreams of Ballet
Even though most little girls have probably never seen a real ballet, they often dream of becoming a prima ballerina. Many 6-year-olds girls would like to be princesses, but see being a ballerina an acceptable compromise. To encourage that dream, stitch an Angelina Ballerina cross stitch for her bedroom; then watch as she pirouettes and dances along with her music box ballerina.
I’m sure Katie isn’t the first little girl to want to be surrounded by Angelina Ballerina cross stitch and other pictures of ballerinas. In fact ballet has been a popular theme in art throughout the years.
French artist Edgar Degas was one of the first to popularize the subject of ballet and the female human figure. His final pieces in pastel were combinations of drawings done of live models in his studio or paintings done at rehearsals, waiting to go on stage and during performances.
Illustrator Helen Craig, who also dreamed of being a ballerina, focused her artistic energy on drawing. A photographer until she was 40, she worked with Katharine Holabird on illustrating the stories for Angelina Ballerina. The white mouse she drew from 1983 onwards won numerous awards and was typically depicted with no electricity and only candles and oil lamps as illumination since this was how Craig had been raised.
In addition to the 20 books in the Angelina ballerina series there is also an animated television show. The former nursery school teacher and mother of two girls, Holabird created the character in 1982.
Angelina Ballerina is a stubborn young mouse, who manages to get herself out of all sorts of trouble with a smile and a giggle. She, like Katie, would love to become a prima ballerina and in the meantime attends Miss Lilly’s dance classes along with her friends Alice and William Longtail (who has a crush on Angelina).
DMC has created several Angelina Ballerina cross stitch kits on 16 count Aida to bridge the gap between arts and crafts. Once completed, the pieces featuring Angelina and her friends will become favorites among the ballerina decorations in her room.
