The theater was filled with children of all ages, and I believe the NYTB is right at guesstimating a target age of 2-6. The Toy Castle is a compilation of 4 stories put to narration, each vignette captures the children??™s attention through visual color and emotional expression. As an added bonus, the production begins with Diana Byer, the company??™s artistic director and founder conducting a short, interactive dance class with the audience using paper ribbons and cardboard stars they received upon arrival and would later use during the performance itself. I thought this was a great way to teach children who are experiencing ballet for the first time, like mine, that ballet is not intimidating; it??™s fun! For moms and dads, the production offered storylines we like: caring, self-confidence and self-acceptance, and sharing. With characters children understand, costumes they love to look at, and music and words they love to hear, The Toy Castle is the perfect introduction to ballet for any child, even boys. The Toy Castle: at Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street (between Park & Madison avenues) Fri, Apr 11 @10 am Sat, Apr 12 @ 11am, 1 pm Sun, Apr 13 @11 am, 1 pm & 3:30 pm Visit nytb.org for more details. Orchestra for Little Kids The Little Orchestra Society's Happy Concerts for Young People Concert Series is a Peabody Award-winning series that makes classical music, not just accessible to young kids, but a magical experience that will turn them into classical music lovers. This weekend's performance of Cinderella??”and the Prince Who Slays the Magic Dragon??”and, I think that title alone demonstrates that these people know what they are doing in terms of getting kids involved in their music??”turns Prokofiev into a magical wonderland using giant puppets, dancers and theatrics to enhance the story of the music. Happy Concerts for Young People are recommended for children 6-12. The Little Orchestra Society also performs the Lollipops Series which introduces preschoolers aged 3-5 to classical music principals in a similar fashion. Check out LittleOrchestra.org for more information. Cinderella ??“ and the Prince Who Slays the Magic Dragon Saturday, April 12, 2008 Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center 11:00 am and 1:00 pm Opera for Kids The New York City opera houses have been making a concerted effort to make opera inviting for kids. The Metropolitan Opera now does special kid-friendly abridged versions of performances and live telecasts shown in schools and the New York City Opera has a family series with special hour-long pre-matinee workshops with the singers and teaching staff to introduce the opera to kids. This weekend kids 6-12 can attend the pre-matinee workshop and then watch Candide, a Leonard Bernstein operetta sung in English. Candide is a fun, crowd-pleaser of an opera and, while at 2 and a half hours it's not for the very young, it could be a good introduction to opera for sophisticated little New Yorkers. Tickets for the Family Workshop can not be bought online, call (212) 870-5570 for more information. Candide New York State Theater, Lincoln Center Saturday, April 12th, 1:30 Pre-Matinee Workshop 11:30-12:30 Busy this weekend? The New York Theater Ballet and The Little Orchestra Society both offer series memberships to their children's programs with several performances throughout the year. While these seasons are ending, consider becoming a member for the next season. The New York City Opera offers one abridged children's performance per year as well as their family workshops. This post was written in collaboration with Shea (thanks, Shea).