My Ballerina Dolls come to life at Toy Fair
Tiffany Erickson at Toy Fair
“Pose, Play, Learn“ is the motto at My Ballerina Dolls, the posable ballet doll line started three years ago by Tiffany Erickson, a dancer with the San Diego Ballet, and her husband Mark.
“We got the idea when we saw girls walking into see the ballet with an assortment of dolls dressed in ballet costumes,” said Tiffany at this week’s Toy Fair trade show at New York’s Javits Center. “We thought, Why not cater to that element with dedicated ballet dolls?”
At Toy Fair, then, the couple brought the five main dolls in their collection—in both 21-inch and petite 12-inch sizes--and the three storybooks bundled with them.
In The Nutcracker Collection, Clara Marie, is dressed in three-tiered lace and chiffon nightgown shimmering with iridescent sequins, and knee-high satin ballet boots. The Nutcracker/Prince Nicholas doll features curled mustache and blocked nose and wears a velour tunic adorned with golden buttons and bold trimmings; removal of its wooden-like helmet reveals the handsome Prince Nicholas with blond hair and blue eyes. The Snow Queen wears a sparkling tutu and crystalized tiara.
From Sleeping Beauty, Aurora has long dark hair, a three-tiered chiffon dress with gold accents and knee-high satin ballet shoes. And from Swan Lake, Odette also has a three-tiered lace and chiffon dress with light blue sequins, knee-high satin ballet shoes, and long blond hair.
All of the My Ballerina Dolls have 19-point articulation—“more moving parts than the human body does,” said Tiffany, herself dressed as a female version of Prince Nicholas.
“They can articulate a classical ballet position, thereby providing a teaching tool for studios that is also beautiful for both children and doll collectors—because of their porcelain look.”
The companion storybooks that come with the dolls encourage simultaneous doll play, with children learning the pictured basic ballet positions by posing their dolls accordingly.
“They learn beginning positions, intermediate and advanced, and they get better with the dolls as they do in life,” Tiffany said.
My Ballerina Dolls is located north of San Diego in Murrieta, California.
“We started it as a vehicle to introduce children to the wonderful world of ballet,” said Tiffany. “As two professionally trained ballet dancers who have danced around the world and now teach ballet to children, we knew how difficult ballet can be to learn. So we set out to make it easier and fun through play. By reading along with our storybooks and posing and playing with our dolls, a child will fall in love with ballet while developing their imagination and ballet skills.”
My Ballerina Dolls