With Angelina Ballerina about to leap on to the stage at Oxford’s New Theatre, writer Katharine Holabird explains her inspiration in creating the children’s favourite character

It is now more than 30 years and 20 books since Angelina Ballerina, wearing her trademark pink tutu and matching ballet slippers, took her first dance steps on the road to international celebrity.

Katharine Holabird’s twinkle-toed mouse is an established favourite of young readers all over the world and her adventures have taken her first to the screen and now to the stage.

Angelina Ballerina The Mousical, written by Miranda Larson, is coming to Oxford’s New Theatre on Monday and Tuesday as part of a lengthy nationwide tour and Katharine is full of praise for what Miranda has done.

“She has really brought Angelina to life,” she enthuses. “I like the fact that there are no masks and so we can see the performers’ faces. I love the way that Angelina keeps translating into new mediums such as the theatre.”

Angelina Ballerina is a prime example of writers making use of material from what is readily available. The inspiration for the character came from Tara, Katharine’s eldest daughter, who showed a boundless enthusiasm for ballet at a very tender age.

“All she wanted was a pink tutu; she was so passionate about it it was hilarious,” recalls Katharine. “She had this real passion for ballet and took it so seriously that it was utterly captivating. I’d been thinking of writing something for children and decided to make my main character a mouse because children think of pet mice as cute and small and cuddly,” continues Katharine.

“Angelina expresses emotions very well and it’s useful for a dancer to have a tail, anyway. And from the start Helen Craig drew Angelina with an impish joie de vivre that exactly fitted the character.”

In the way that fictional characters tend to be ageless, Angelina is still hovering between six and seven years old in her creator’s imagination, although her screen incarnation is a year or so older. How would Katharine sum up her personality?

“She’s a bit bossy,” says Katharine.”I’d call her impulsive, emotional and passionate. She has some very sterling qualities. She’s loyal and loving and works hard. Children identify with her because she’s constantly falling down, only to pick herself up and start all over again. She’s very positive.”

Angelina’s enthusiasms sometimes get the better of her, often landing her in scrapes from which she emerges a wiser and much happier mouse. “I can’t say that I’m consciously trying to preach a message – I’m not offering any life lessons,” replies Katharine. “I was a stay-at-home mother-of-three and so I was always observing my children and watching their behaviour. Their bodies may have been small but their passions were not. Early childhood is an exciting time but children of that age face incredible challenges. Life for them is one big learning curve and I try to reflect that in the books.”

Katharine, one of four sisters, grew up in an artistic family in Michigan where her literary leanings appear to have been encouraged. “Unlike Angelina, I went through my ballet phase very quickly and moved on to horses instead.” But Katharine had always nursed a desire to write, even if she took some time to achieve her goal: “To be a writer was my dream and since I have always been interested in young children, I couldn’t ask for anything more suitable than writing about them.”

Angelina’s screen adventures include other forms of dancing, as does the stage show. In The Mousical’s finale we see Angelina and her friends strut their stuff in routines embracing ballet, hip-hop, salsa and tap, showing how diverse dancing can be. Why did Katharine choose classical ballet as the world Angelina would inhabit – as opposed, say, to musical theatre or modern dance?

“Initially I think that it was because my daughters went to a little ballet school,” says Katharine. “I also believe that ballet is good for young children in that it teaches them poise and builds their self-confidence. It’s also about encouraging self-discipline. Angelina has to show up at a certain time and has to be ready to give her all.”

Making a big effort not to exclude boys, Marco and AJ, the hip-hop dancing mouselings are part of Angelina’s gang on television and now feature in Angelina Ballerina The Mousical. “I have a four-year-old grandson who is very much a little boy but when he was younger he was fascinated by the relationship between Angelina and her Little Cousin Henry, who is always tagging along behind the girls. And of course there are male dancers who are very athletic and who have to be physically very strong to lift their partners.”

SEE IT
Angelina Ballerina will be pirouetting on to the stage at the New Theatre Oxford with her show, Angelina Ballerina The Mousical, on June 30 – July 1 (4.30pm on Monday, 11am, 2pm and call 0844 871 3020 or see atgtickets.com/oxford