History Literature / BalletShoes

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/balletshoes4_3592.jpg]]

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Creator/NoelStreatfeild. It is about three HappilyAdopted girls living in 1930s England. Together they are being trained in dance and acting, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a BBC TV series in 1975 and a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie]] in 2007; the second adaptation was a BBC film starring Creator/EmmaWatson as the eldest sister Pauline.

* ChekhovsGunman: Theo talks dreamily about an admirer she had in her chorus days whom she met every night at the stage door. The same man ends up at the house towards the end, happily reuniting with Theo. (Movie version only.)

* DudeWheresMyRespect:
** Posy gets annoyed when the family is making a fuss about everything Pauline will need for her audition - and none of them has said anything to her about the news that she is the first student to be trained privately by Madame. (Movie version only.)
** Winifred reacts this way when Pauline gets the part of Alice, because she "looks right." She screams that it has nothing to do with talent and storms off. (This tantrum is in the movie version only. In the book, she is in quiet tears because her family needed the money she would earn, since the father is sick and can't work.)

* GagHaircut: Theo tries to give herself "a permanent wave" and ends up frying a lot of her hair, leaving it short for the rest of the film (Movie version only).
* GenkiGirl:
** Posy, the most cheerful and upbeat of the sisters.
** Theo Dane as well; a bubbly and fun-loving woman whose EstablishingCharacterMoment is dancing in her room. (Movie version only.)
* {{Happily Adopted}}: The girls all love their adopted family dearly, and only Posy expresses some kind of angst over not knowing her real mother - because her mother gave her up as opposed to dying like the other two. (Movie version only. In the book, the sisters feel that it's "grand" that Posy has a mother.)
* TheHeart: Petrova is this to the family.
* HollywoodOld: Theo acts as if she's an OldMaid - though she's in her thirties at most. (Movie version only.)

* IWasQuiteALooker: Theo in the 2007 movie, although she doesn't look much older than thirty (Movie version only).

* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Pauline's success in a stage production of Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland soon goes to her head and she becomes rather arrogant. Getting demoted to understudy brings her crashing back down to earth.

* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Pauline's success in a production of Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland soon goes to her head and she becomes rather arrogant. Getting demoted to understudy brings her crashing back down to earth.

* GagHaircut: Theo tries to give herself "a permanent wave" and ends up frying a lot of her hair, leaving it short for the rest of the film. (Movie version only.)

* IWasQuiteALooker: Theo in the 2007 movie, although she doesn't look much older than thirty. (Movie version only.)

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Creator/NoelStreatfeild. It is about three HappilyAdopted girls living in 1930s England. Together they are being trained in dance and acting, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation was a BBC film starring Creator/EmmaWatson as the eldest sister Pauline.

* IronicInversion: Petrova gets the part of Mustard Seed in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' despite giving a lacklustre audition, when her competition was the much more talented Winifred. Petrova gets the part because the directors are in a rush and Winifred is late to the audition.

* RealityEnsues: For Winifred when Pauline is picked over her to play Alice because Pauline is more attractive and has the right look. She senses that notwithstanding her superior talent she will always be turned down in preference for girls who look like Pauline (and in fact a few years later seemed resigned to playing the same sort of [[PlayingATree very small parts]] Petrova does).

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Posy and Madame Fidelia.

** Posy, who is the best dancer out of the three, likely because of her energy.

** Winnfred learns this when Pauline is given the role of Alice instead of her even though Winifred is more talented.

* RealityEnsues: For Winnifred when Pauline is picked over her to play Alice because Pauline is more attractive and has the right look. She senses that notwithstanding her superior talent she will always be turned down in preference for girls who look like Pauline (and in fact a few years later seemed resigned to playing the some sort of extra roles Petrova does).

* AlphaBitch: Winifred in the dance school. She is so because she's the most talented all-round students and thus gets most of the lead roles - until Pauline comes along that is. This also makes her an AcademicAlphaBitch - from a performing perspective anyway. (Movie version only. See Adaptational Villainy entry.)

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Creator/NoelStreatfeild. It is about three HappilyAdopted girls living in 1930s England. Together they are being trained in dance and acting, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred Creator/EmmaWatson as the eldest sister Pauline (before she appeared in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower").

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Posy is out with Madame when she suffers a stroke in the private box at the ballet]]. She's only a preteen and probably has never ever seen such a thing before. And it's implied she had to find her own way home. (Movie version only; in the book, Posy learns of Madame's illness second hand, and a stroke is never mentioned.)

* AlphaBitch: Winnifred in the dance school. She is so because she's the most talented all-round students and thus gets most of the lead roles - until Pauline comes along that is. This also makes her an AcademicAlphaBitch - from a performing perspective anyway. (Movie version only. See Adaptational Villainy entry.)

** Winifred reacts this way when Pauline gets the part of Alice, because she "looks right". She screams that it has nothing to do with talent and storms off. (This tantrum is in the movie version only. In the book, she is in quiet tears because her family needed the money she would earn because the father is sick and can't work.)

* IronicInversion: Petrova gets the part of Mustard Seed in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' despite giving a lacklustre audition, when her competition was the much more talented Winifred. Petrova gets the part because the directors are in a rush and Winnifred is late to the audition.

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Creator/NoelStreatfeild. It is about three HappilyAdopted girls living in 1930s England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred Creator/EmmaWatson as the eldest sister Pauline (before she appeared in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower").

** Winifred in the 2007 film version is a lot more bratty than she is in the novel. Additionally the film leaves out a detail from the book that Winifred's father is ill and she is under pressure to provide for five younger siblings. The point about her father is referenced when Winnifred rushes in too late to the ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' audition because she has been to visit her father 'at his Sanatorium in Hastings".