About Us

Series Description

The producers of the “Prima Princessa” DVD series, Stephanie Troeller and Mary Kate Mellow, are both mothers of dance loving daughters, who were the original source of inspiration for the series. Each DVD in the series has the cartoon fairy ballerina Prima Princessa escort a group of pre-schoolers on a magical journey to see a live performance of a classic storybook ballet, delightfully narrated so children may fully understand the plot. Between acts, they return home and in fun colorful montages of toys, animals, and kids, they learn ballet steps from students at the School of American Ballet, the official academy of the New York City Ballet.

The creative duo is motivated by a deep desire to bring the beauty and wonder of ballet into the lives of young children who otherwise might not have that opportunity. Their goal is to inspire a trend in children’s programming towards the arts, where we raise the bar of entertainment to be culturally and intellectually enriching as well as just plain fun. Judging by the more than 175 amazing reviews of the Prima Princessa DVDs, children, parents, and critics agree that Prima Princessa is well on her way.

Producer Biographies

Stephanie Troeller

Stephanie is a former dancer. She studied and performed in Paris France at the L’Ecole Internationale de Theatre de Paris, Marcel Marceau and then at Martha Graham in New York City. She then earned her BA in Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University in 1989.

Putting her extensive knowledge of Machiavelli and Hobbes to work, Stephanie then pursued a career in comics. She has under her belt 15 years cartooning, managing, directing, and product design experience with Hanna Barbera, DC Comics, and Warner Bros. Studio Stores. Stephanie is the writer and creator of her comic strip “Relationstrips” which appeared for 5 years in many alternative weekly papers nation wide. Stephanie is also the proud mother of four very young children, two boys & two girls under the age of 8.

Mary Kate Mellow

As a former small business entrepreneur, Mary Kate understands how creative talent coupled with hard work and determination, are crucial ingredients for building a business. Just a few years out of college and with no formal training as a jewelry designer, Mary Kate started a jewelry business. She quickly jumped from craft fairs to selling into premier retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Pea in the Pod, Dallas Museum of Art Shop, Harold’s Catalog and many other upscale boutiques. Her jewelry has appeared on the cover of Seventeen Magazine and in Women’s Wear Daily.

Mary Kate Mellow has garnered additional sales experience as an account rep at Butterfield & Butterfield, a premier art auction house and at TVData, one the world’s largest suppliers of television data to newspapers. Mary Kate Mellow graduated from Wesleyan University. She is the mother of two young children, one boy and one girl.