Mattel brought ballet to the playroom with Dancerina, a 24-inch battery-operated doll that could pirouette, toe-dance, and gracefully turn her head, all at the push or twist of a control knob hidden in her plastic tiara. With a rooted ponytail, soft tutu, dancer’s tights, and laced ballet slippers, Dancerina offered a stage-ready experience for aspiring young ballerinas.
When the mechanism was activated and the tiara knob engaged, Dancerina could balance upright on the tips of her toes, pirouette, and make gentle head turns. Each doll came with a 33 1/3 rpm cardboard record featuring The Song of the Flutes from The Nutcracker Suite, giving children some audio accompaniment for their living room performances
In addition to the flagship 24-inch version, Mattel released two smaller variants: Dancerella (18 inches) and Baby Dancerina (12 inches). All shared the same core feature, a tiara-activated control knob that controlled movement.
