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BARBIE DOLLS - Classic Ballet Series
By Roselyn Gadia-Smitley
(Text and photographs are copyrighted materials unless credited sources.)
Photo1
Photo1: Barbie-Classic Ballerina Series. Left: "Snowflake In The Nutcracker", middle: "Marzipan In The Nutcracker", and right: "Swan Ballerina from Swan Lake". Photo source: ebay.com
The Barbie "Classic Ballet Series" dolls were released from January 1, 1997 to August 1, 2004. These dolls were sold under the label of Special Edition Collectible Barbie. A total of ten dolls comprised this collection. These dolls were specially sculpted in ballerina pose with the arched feet. These dolls wore elaborate hairstyles and rooted eyelashes. These dolls also wear shimmer transparent tights. The themes were centered around the most popular ballets as the "The Nutcracker", "Romeo & Juliet", and "Swan Lake". These dolls were sold as a collectible series from $29.99 (in its first year) to $34.95 (in its last year).
The series consisted of dolls as follows:
(1) "Sugar Plum Fairy" (Caucasian) - released in January 1, 1997. She was originally sold at $29.99 with the Superstar face mold. She has long blonde hair. Her outfit is of ivory satin bodice with a front panel of metallic gold fabric, trimmed with pink bows (edged in gold), and pink ribbon strips (with gold edges) at the front of the bodice. The ballet outfit's skirt (ballerina length) is of shimmering pink tulle, which is sewn to the bodice. She wears coordinating armlets of the same pink tulle. She wears pink ballet shoes.
(2) "Swan Queen in Swan Lake" (African-American) - released in January 1, 1998. She was originally sold at $29.95 with the Nichelle (also known as Nikki) face mold. She has black hair which is styled and swept to the back. She wears an all-white ballet ensemble. Her ballet outfit has feather embellishments at the sleeves and head band. She also wears a crown. White pearls and light blue pearls are sewn at the front of the ballet outfit. The tulle skirt is sewn to the bodice of the dress. She wears white ballet shoes.
(3) "Swan Queen in Swan Lake" (Caucasian) - released in January 1, 1998. She was originally sold at $29.95 with the Superstar face mold. She has brunette hair which is styled and swept to the back. She wears an all-white ballet ensemble. Her ballet outfit has feather embellishments at the sleeves and head band. She also wears a crown. White pearls and light blue pears are sewn at the front of the ballet outfit. The tulle skirt is sewn to the bodice of the dress. She wears white ballet shoes.
(4) "Marzipan in The Nutcracker" (Caucasian) - released in January 1, 1999. She was originally sold for $29.99 with the Mackie face mold. She is the teen character "Clara" in The Nutcracker written by Peter Tchaikovsky. She has blonde hair, swept up, and with falling ringlets. Her ballet outfit has a pink taffeta bodice with a center piece in aqua green. Very minute ruffles embellished the princess seams at the front. Two rows of small pink ribbon braids adorn the aqua front piece. Armlets of coordinating pink tulle fabric are worn by this doll. The armlets, front of the ballet outfit, and front of the hair are adorned with very tiny pink satin roses with very tiny aqua ribbons for the leaves. Her outfit's skirt has a three layered tulle fabric in light-colored aqua. The top layer of the skirt is of shimmer aqua tulle fabric. She wears pink ballet shoes and pink earrings. Of all the dolls in this series, she is my favorite.
(5) "Flower Ballerina from The Nutcracker" (Caucasian) - released in October 1, 2000. She was originally sold for $29.99 with the Mackie face mold. She has long blonde hair which is pulled back and then falls loose. Her ballet outfit is at ballerina length and has a pink satin bodice. The pink tiered tulle skirt has a matching tulle gathered fly-away sleeves. She wears pink ballet shoes.
(6) "Snowflake in The Nutcracker" (Caucasian) - released in January 1, 2000. She was originally sold for $29.99 with a Mackie face mold. She has long wavy hair which is styled to support a crown. Her short, white, classic ballet outfit is trimmed with blue coordinating lace. Blue snowflake coordinating glitter adorned the bodice. Her attached tutu is of blue tulle. Her outfit has a white satin overskirt that is also trimmed with blue lace. She wears blue ballet shoes.
(7) "Swan Ballerina From Swan Lake" (Caucasian) - released in November 1, 2001. She was originally sold for $34.95 with a Mackie face mold. She has brunette hair. She is dressed all in white. Her ballet outfit has white satin bodice, white tulle skirt, feather-like armlets and headband. She wears white ballet shoes. This is the doll featured in the online site for barbie.com. The doll featured in photo1 has the Superstar face mold.
(8) "Peppermint Candy Cane" (Caucasian) - released in November 1, 2002. She originally sold for $29.99 and has the face mold of the Generations Girl. She has long blonde hair. Her outfit is in taffeta (white bodice) and tulle (skirt). The bodice of the dress features green and pink stripes. She wears pink shoes.
(9) "Barbie as Titania" (Caucasian) - released in August 1, 2004. She originally sold for $34.95 with a Mackie face mold. She has long reddish long blonde hair which is pulled back. Her outfit is of draped bodice in lavender, trimmed with aqua colored organza. Her skirt is of tiered (many layers) of violet and teal tulle fabric. She wears lavender ballet shoes.
(10) "Barbie as Juliet" (Caucasian) - released in August 1, 2004. She originally sold for $34.95 with a Mackie face mold. She has coiffed loose brunette hair. Her outfit of historic empire-waisted style falls freely. The chiffon pink dress draped below the knee and embellished with metallic lace trim. Her outfit has white satin puffed sleeves (Juliet sleeves). She wears white ballet shoes.
Collecting this series spanned eight years total. To view the dolls in this series, visit http://www.ebay.com and search the doll or dolls that you are interested in. I collect Barbie ballerina dolls that appeals to me the most. I've added "Marzipan in the Nutcracker" and "Sugar Plum Fairy" to my collection. Dedicated ballerina doll collectors will cherish this series. Happy Collecting!
For additional information, click at these links:
Collecting Barbie Dolls On A Budget
Collecting Fashion Dolls To Restore