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The story of Twelve Dancing Princesses and its themes have appeared in literature and other forms of art. This page provides a small discussion of some of the better known treatments by authors and other artists. Literature Poetry Music Film Theatre
Calhoun, Dia. The Phoenix Dance. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. NOVEL: From publisher: "On the island of Faranor in the kingdom of Windward, twelve princesses dance their shoes to shreds each night. No one knows why. Not the king or queen. Not the knights, lords, or ladies-in-waiting. When the queen blames the royal shoemaker, his apprentice, Phoenix Dance, puts her life at risk to solve the mystery. She braves magic spells, dragons, evil wizards, and the treachery of the princesses themselves. As Phoenix faces these dangers, she finds herself caught in the dangerous dance inside herself – a dance of darkness and light, a dance that presents her with the greatest challenge of her life. "This captivating companion to Aria of the Sea weaves a retelling of Grimm’s fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses with the story of a young woman’s inward journey toward an understanding of a scary, unpredictable part of her own nature." This is a companion novel to Calhoun's lovely Aria of the Sea.
Marillier, Juliet. Wildwood Dancing. New York: Knopf Books, 2007. NOVEL: From publisher: "High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm. "But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he's there to help the girls survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena's sister has fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom--an impossible union it's up to Jena to stop. "When Cezar's grip of power begins to tighten, at stake is everything Jena loves: her home, her family, and the Other Kingdom she has come to cherish. To save her world, Jena will be tested in ways she can't imagine--tests of trust, strength, and true love."
Miles, Ellen. The Twelve Dancing Princesses. New York: Scholastic, 2004. NOVEL: For junior readers. "Princess Jessamine loves to dance. Every night, when the rest of the castle has gone to bed, she and her sisters descend a hidden staircase to an enchanted kingdom where they dance through the night--and right through their shoes! Their father, the king, is determined to discover where the princesses sneak off to each night. He promises that whoever can reveal the princesses' secret may ask one of them to be his wife!Suitors flock from far and wide. Can Jessamine and her sisters guard their secret...and their hearts?"
Weyn, Suzanne. The Night Dance. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. NOVEL: "Rowena, the youngest of twelve sisters, loves to slip out of the castle at night and dance in a magical forest. Soon she convinces her sisters to join her. When Sir Ethan notices that his daughters' slippers look tattered every morning, he is certain they've been sneaking out. So he posts a challenge to all the suitors in the kingdom: The first man to discover where his daughters have been is free to marry the one he chooses. "Meanwhile a handsome young knight named Bedivere is involved in a challenge of his own: to return the powerful sword, Excalibur, to a mysterious lake. While looking for the lake, Bedivere meets the beautiful Rowena and falls for her. Bedivere knows that accepting Sir Ethan's challenge is the only opportunity for him to be with Rowena forever. But this puts both Bedivere and Rowena in a dangerous situation...one in which they risk their lives for a chance at love." Winterson, Jeanette. Sexing the Cherry. NOVEL: For older audiences. In the reign of Charles II, Jordan and his mother, the Dog-Woman, live on the banks of the stinking Thames, where they take in sights ranging from the first pineapple in London to Royalist heads on pikes. As a young man, Jordan leaves to travel the world, seeking wonder and knowledge, and learns that every journey conceals another within it. Sexing The Cherry celebrates the power of the imagination as it playfully juggles with our perceptions of history and reality; love and sex; lies and truths; and the twelve dancing princesses who lived happily ever after, but not with their husbands. Literature:
Short Stories
Hoffman, Nina Kiriki. "Night Life." Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. August 2000. Also available in: SHORT STORY
Mayer, Gloria Gilbert and Thomas Mayer. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Goldilocks on Management: 27 Revisionist Fairy Tales for Serious Managers. New York: American Management Association, 1999. SHORT STORY
McKillip, Patricia. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." A Wolf at the Door. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. SHORT STORY
McKinley, Robin. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." The Door in the Hedge. Greenwillow Publishing, 1981. SHORT STORY: McKinley's rendition of the tale is charming, but it does not provide a vastly different rendition of the tale.
Wingate, Anne. "'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' Revisited." Once Upon A Crime. Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime, 1998. SHORT STORY: This time the "princesses" are daughters of a mob boss, but they still disappear mysteriously every night. Literature: Picture Books Allen, Debbie. Brothers of the Knight. Kadir Nelson, illustrator. New York: Dial Books, 1999. PICTURE BOOK: Library of Congress Description: In this contemporary retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," an African-American reverend in Harlem endeavors to discover why the shoes of his twelve sons are worn to pieces every morning. Bateman, Teresa. The Princesses Have a Ball. Lynne Cravath, illustrator. Morton Grove, Ill. : A. Whitman, 2002. PICTURE BOOK: Library of Congress Description: In this rhyming update of the fairy tale of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses," twelve princesses wear out their shoes playing basketball. Fitchett, Gordon. The Twelve Princesses. New York: Phyllis Fogelman, 2000. PICTURE BOOK: Originally published in Australia, this book portrays the traditional tale while the illustrations depict the characters as ducks. Mayer, Marianna. The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Kinuko Craft, illustrator. New York: William Morrow, 1989. PICTURE BOOK: A luciously illustrated rendition of the tale. Sanderson, Ruth. The Twelve Dancing Princesses. New York: Little Brown, 1993. PICTURE BOOK: Traditional tale enhanced by Sanderson's high quality illustrations. Grimm, Wilhelm and Jacob. The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Jane Ray, illustrator. New York: Dutton, 1996. PICTURE BOOK
Gilbert, Sandra M. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 18. Rockwell, Margaret. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." The Poets' Grimm: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales. Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, editors. Ashland, OR: Story Line Press, 2003. p. 115.
Sexton, Anne. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Transformations. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979. Also available in: This poem is available online through Plagiarist.com at The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Anne Sexton. Smith, Stevie. "The Ballet of the Twelve Dancing Princesses." Women's Poetry of the 1930's: A Critical Anthology. Jane Dowson, editor. New York: Routledge, 1996. I have listed primarily classical compositions of music using the themes of this fairy tale in either ballet, opera or some other musical style. I have also provided links to popular recordings of the music when available at Amazon.com. The advantage to these links is that you can listen to samples of the music at no charge.
Ingram, James, composer. Brothers of the Knight. 1998. SOUNDTRACK: This is the soundtrack to the musical discussed under DRAMA below. To learn more
about these films, please visit the
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). Henry Levin and George Pal, directors. Cast: The story of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, and three of their stories, including The Dancing Princesses. The Dancing Princesses (1978) (TV). Ben Rea, director. Cast: The Dancing Princesses (1978) (TV). Jon Scoffield, director. Cast: MUSICAL
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Dancing Princesses (1987) (TV). Peter Medak, director. Cast: This television series originally aired on Showtime for six seasons and a total of 27 episodes. To see a full episode list, go to Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre. The tale presents six princesses instead of the usual twelve.
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006). USA. ANIMATION: Mattel's tie-in movie to accompany the release of their Barbie in The Twelve Dancing Princesses toy line.
Allen, Debbie and James Ingram. Brothers of the Knight. 1998. MUSICAL: The stage production of this musical premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in 1998. Library of Congress Description: In this contemporary retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," an African-American reverend in Harlem endeavors to discover why the shoes of his twelve sons are worn to pieces every morning. Read more about it on the Kennedy Center's website. Rogers, June Walker. Twelve Dancing Princesses. Book by June Walker Rogers. Music by Diane Leslie. Lyrics by David Rogers. Woodstock, IL: Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago, 1976. MUSICAL: A king with 12 unmarried daughters and a mystery to solve! How do the 12 lovely princesses wear out their shoes night after night when they are securely locked in a room from which there is no escape? And where do the princes who come to woo them disappear to? The mystery is solved by Michael, an ambitious cowherd, with the help of Sterling, the Silver Fairy. To "kick-up-your-heels" dancing melodies, Michael discovers the princesses' secret and wins the hand of the youngest, Princess Linda. |
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Anne Heiner, SurLaLune Fairy Tales E-mail: heidi@surlalunefairytales.com Page created 6/1999; Last updated 7/7/07 www.surlalunefairytales.com |
