History Literature / BalletShoes

* {{Impoverished Patrician}} Sylvia, sort of- she's consistently struggling financially but has 3 servants (okay, so for a long time she's only been paying two, the other being her own mother-surrogate), lives in a high-end district of London, and her teenaged daughters take paid work years before she does.

* IronicEchoCut: Petrova gets a sty in her eye just before an audition, and Nana is giving her something to put on it and assuring her no one will notice. Cut to the casting directors asking for "girl with the red eye" to step forward.

* PlayingATree: In the 2007 film, Petrova and Winifred play pea pods in a tacky version of Cinderella. In the book, it;s Petrova who is stuck being a "jumping bean" in a pantomime of "Jack and the Beanstalk."

* PromotedToLoveInterest: Mr Simpson's wife and is alive in the book and the two of them have a son, but both are dead in the 2007 to allow for a romance with Sylvia. There isn't a romance in the book.

* SkewedPriorities: Sylvia is disgusted when she finds out Posy's. Posy is upset when [[spoiler: her dance mistress has a stroke...because it means she won't be able to get dance lessons from her any more]].

** Theo Dane as well; a bubbly and fun-loving woman whose EstablishingCharacterMoment is dancing in her room.

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

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

* MiddleChildSyndrome: Plain Petrova who has no artistic gifts is sandwiched between prettier sisters who are gifted in acting and dance respectively. To make matters worse, she is expected to attend a demanding performing arts academy with them without complaining. She gets some relief from Mr Simpson who shares her interest in motors and often acts as a surrogate father towards her. Although uniquely for the trope, it's Petrova who gets the most scenes with Garnie - which hints that she might be the latter's preferred daughter. She certainly never gets reprimanded like Pauline and Posy do at various points.

* OldMaid: Theo feels anxious about herage and acts as if she's an Old Maid when she's barely older than 30.

* OurFairiesAreDifferent: An in-universe example in the book. Nana and the girls are surprised that the costumes for the fairy roles in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" consist of colored bodysuits and little else, rather than traditonal wings and wands. Nana is dismissive when the director explains they are "modern fairies." This isn't present in the film, as Pauline and Petrova's costumes have wings and flowing gowns.

* PlayingATree: Petrova and Winnifred play pea pods in a tacky version of Cinderella.
* PluckyGirl: Posy. So much that when she faces a future without ballet lessons, she sneaks into a theatre where the Russian ballet is practising and performs for the director. Thanks to her natural talent and knowing Madame Fidelia, she's offered a spot.
* PrimaDonnaDirector: Madame Fidelia, especially at first.
* PromotedToLoveInterest: Mr Simpson's wife and son are alive in the book, but dead in the 2007 to allow for a romance with Sylvia. There isn't a romance in the book.

* SkewedPriorities: Sylvia is disgusted when she finds out Posy's. Posy is upset when [[spoiler: her dance tutor has a stroke...because it means she won't be able to get dance lessons from her any more]].

** Also comes into play (possibly) with all-round brilliant, plain Winifred vs. good-at-acting-but-merely-competent-at-the-rest, beautiful Pauline. Mostly it's observed that Winifred's not very attractive and looks shabby at auditions (because her family are flat broke and chaotic), but she also seems to lack Pauline's charisma.

* TheVerse: The Shoesverse, perhaps? This was Streatfeild's first book for children, and most of her subsequent juvenile novels explicitly take place in the same continuity. Mention of the Fossil sisters is frequently made in other books, and occasionally they even cameo in person. The Academy is also revisited. Many of Streatfeild's book featured a character wanting to study classical ballet, and they usually end up going to the school and meeting/studying under Madame Fidolia.

* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

* CoolOldLady: Nana who is another surrogate mother to the girls and has plenty of wit and spunk despite her age.

* DeathByAdaptation: Mr Simpson's wife and child are dead in the film version, to allow for a romance with Sylvia. They are alive in the book, where there is no romance.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The children are taken out of school and put on the stage to help bring in money to support their families, which no one bats an eye at.

** 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.
** 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.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: When Posy is delivered to the house, her letter states that she was unfortunately named so. However she never is shown having any trouble with the name herself, making it the parents who feel this way.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Blonde Pauline is the pretty one and the one who is noticed most out of her sisters. This is justified by the setting; in the 1930s natural blonde hair was one of the high standards of beauty.

* 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.

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

* {{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.

* HollywoodOld: Theo acts as if she's an OldMaid - though she's in her thirties at most.

* InSeriesNickname: The girls call Sylvia "Garnie". This is due to ValuesDissonance - as it would be scandalous for the public to mistake Sylvia's daughters for her own and that they might be illegitimate.

* 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 Winnifred. Petrova gets the part because the directors are in a rush and Winnifred is late to the audition.

Although only ''Ballet Shoes'' has been filmed, the book had several sequels following the girls' further adventures. In America they were all titled 'something Shoes' (''The Circus Is Coming'' being retitled ''Circus Shoes'' for instance).

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild (no, that spelling is not a typo). 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").

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild (no, that spelling is not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930s England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} 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").

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The three girls' names all start with a P.

* AlliterativeFamily : The girls' adopted mother named Pauline and Petrova for the saints Paul and Peter, respectively, but was annoyed that the youngest arrived already named Posy.

* {{Annoying Younger Sibling}}: Pauline and Petrova often feel like this towards Posy.

* {{The Film of the Book}}: Starring {{Emma Watson}}.

** Could also apply to all of Noel Streatfeild's works: ''Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, Theater Shoes, Party Shoes, Movie Shoes, SkatingShoes, Family Shoes, Literature/DancingShoes,'' and ''Traveling Shoes.'' Important to note that many of these titles were different when published in England and only became ''___ Shoes'' when published in America.

** Could also apply to all of Noel Streatfeild's works: ''Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, Theater Shoes, Party Shoes, Movie Shoes, SkatingShoes, Family Shoes, DancingShoes,'' and ''Traveling Shoes.'' Important to note that many of these titles were different when published in England and only became ''___ Shoes'' when published in America.

* AcceptableFeminineGoals: Averted initially as all three girls wish to get their names in the history books but Pauline and Posy eventually pursue acting and dancing careers while Petrova wishes to become an aviatrix.

** 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 A Midsummer Night's Dream audition because she has been to visit her father 'at his Sanatorium in Hastings".

* 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.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Dr Jakes and Dr Smith are hinted to be lesbians and suspected to be so by many fans but neither the book nor the film elaborates. Note that they do rent two rooms at the boarding house.

* SkewedPriorities: Sylvia is disgusted when she finds out Posy's. Posy is upset when her dance tutor has a stroke...because it means she won't be able to get dance lessons from her any more.

* RaceLift: In the book the director Mr Sholsky is Jewish, but played by black actor Adrian Lester in the 2007 film.

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild (not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930's England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} 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")

** Could also apply to all of Noel Streatfeild's works: ''Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, TheaterShoes, Party Shoes, Movie Shoes, SkatingShoes, Family Shoes, DancingShoes,'' and ''Traveling Shoes.'' Important to note that many of these titles were different when published in England and only became ''___ Shoes'' when published in America.

Despite having several reviews by The Dove Foundation and receiving a "Family-Approved" seal, "Ballet Shoes" is often considered a girly movie (similar to those aimed towards pre-teen girls such as Bridge to Terabithia, Bratz: The Movie, The Princess Bride, The Little Mermaid (1989) and Ice Princess).

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild (not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930's England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred Creator/EmmaWatson as the eldest sister Pauline.

* AdaptationalSexuality: In the 2007 film both Sylvia and Theo fall in love with Mr. Simpson. Sylvia thinks Mr. Simpson prefers Theo, but he ends up proposing to Sylvia who accepts. (Theo herself ends happily reunited with an old admirer from her chorus girl days.)

* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Blonde Pauline is the pretty one and the one who is noticed most out of her sisters.

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

** A variation in the 2007 adaptation. When Pauline is cast in a film and has to act a sad scene, to show her "inexperience" while filming she just doesn't put any effort into her line and has to be taught to put emotion in by the director.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/balletshoes4_3592.jpg]]

** Theo in the 2007 movie seems rather interested in Sylvia at times.

* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Pauline is the beautiful one, Petrova is the smart one, and Posy, while not the stereotypical brawn, is a much better dancer than her sisters.

* GenkiGirl: Posy.
* {{Happily Adopted}}

* InSeriesNickname: The girls call Sylvia "Garnie".

* LettingHerHairDown: Sylvia.
* LifeIsntFair: Winnifred learns this when Pauline is given the role of Alice instead of her even though Winnifred is more talented.

* MiddleChildSyndrome: Plain Petrova who has no artistic gifts is sandwiched between prettier sisters who are gifted in acting and dance respectively. To make matters worse, she is expected to attend a demanding performing arts academy with them without complaining. She gets some relief from Mr Simpson who shares her interest in motors and often acts as a surrogate father towards her.
** Although uniquely for the trope, it's Petrova who gets the most scenes with Garnie - which hints that she might be the latter's preferred daughter. She certainly never gets reprimanded like Pauline and Posy do at various points.
* PlayingATree: Petrova and Winnifred play dancing jumping beans in a version of ''Cinderella''.

* {{Technician Versus Performer}}: Played with a bit. It's mentioned that Petrova, who hates dancing, ends up being one of the most technically proficient dancers in the school ''because'' she hates dancing, so she ends up taking basic classes year after year and gets all the core moves completely ground into her mind. But her performer sisters are the ones who always get major roles in ballets and plays, while she's always (gladly) stuck in the background. Although in this case, her sisters aren't bad at technique; they just never learn it by rote the way she does.
** Petrova does have a leading role at one point, but that's because Pauline is portraying her brother, and it's more convenient to cast her as the sister.

* {{Theme Naming}} Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil.
** Lampshaded by Nana:

** Could also apply to all of Noel Streatfeild's works: ''Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, TheaterShoes, Party Shoes, Movie Shoes, SkatingShoes, Family Shoes, DancingShoes,'' and ''Traveling Shoes.'' Whew!
*** Important to note that many of these titles were different when published in England and only became ''___ Shoes'' when published in America.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/balletshoes4_3592.jpg

''Ballet Shoes'' is a children's novel by Noel Streatfeild (not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930's England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred {{Emma Watson}} as the eldest sister Pauline.

* BadBadActing: Petrova when she is playing Mytyl in "The Blue Bird" (1975 film) and Mustard Seed in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" (2007 film) is called out for her expressionless acting.

* {{Ballet}}: It's in the title!
** Although there's rather less of it than one might suppose from the title. Posy, the ballet-oriented sister, is the one least focused on and is really not a POV character at all. Even in the parts of the book directly about the performing arts, there is a lot more time spent discussing acting and the theatre.
* {{Beauty Brains and Brawn}} Pauline is the beautiful one, Petrova is the smart one, and Posy, while not the stereotypical brawn, is a much better dancer than her sisters.
* {{Blonde Brunette Redhead}}: Pauline, Petrova, and Posy, respectively.
* {{Brainy Brunette}}: Petrova is known as the clever child of the three.

* ChristmasCake: Theo acts as if she's an OldMaid when she's barely older than 30.

* {{Odd Name Out}}: Pauline and Petrova are named after Saints Paul and Peter, but Posy came to live with them already named.

* TheThreeFacesOfEve: Posy as the youngest is the Child. Petrova is the Wife - as she takes after Sylvia and is TheHeart of the family. Pauline is the Seductress - since she's only 16 the sexual aspect is downplayed, but she is considered quite a beauty and gets numerous roles because of her stunning looks.

* AbsentMindedProfessor: Amateur paleontologist Great Uncle Matthew fits this trope. He seems to forgot about the existence of the Fossil children for years and sends no financial support.

* EmbarrassingFirstName: When Posy is delivered to the house, her letter states that she was unfortunately named so...

* OurFairiesAreDifferent: An in-universe example in the book. Nana and the girls are surprised that the costumes for the fairy roles in "A Midsummer's Night Dream" consist of colored bodysuits and little else, rather than traditonal wings and wands. Nana is dismissive when the director explains they are "modern fairies."

* PrimaDonnaDirector: Madame Fidelia, especially at first.
* SkewedPriorities: Sylvia is disgusted when she finds out Posy's. Posy is upset when her dance tutor has a stroke...because it means she won't be able to get dance lessons from her anymore.

''Ballet Shoes'' is a young adult novel by Noel Streatfeild (not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930's England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred {{Emma Watson}} as the eldest sister Pauline.

** Could also apply to all of Noel Streatfeild's works: ''Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, {{TheaterShoes}}, Party Shoes, Movie Shoes, {{SkatingShoes}}, Family Shoes, {{DancingShoes}},'' and ''Traveling Shoes.'' Whew!

''{{Ballet Shoes}}'' is a young adult novel by Noel Streatfeild (not a typo). It is about three {{Happily Adopted}} girls living in 1930's England. Together they are being trained in dance, with varying degrees of success. It was made into a [[{{The Film of the Book}} movie]] twice, in 1975 and 2007; the second adaptation starred {{Emma Watson}} as the eldest sister Pauline.