Mister Rogers meets ballet dancer Ying Li and is anxious to try a few dance moves on his own. She takes his hand and guides him through some of the steps. She shows how her special shoes allow her to stay up on her toes. Mister Rogers says that her love for dance is evident in the way she moves around to the music. Her dance coach introduces Mister Rogers to the piano player and she comments on how having a live piano player at the rehearsals inspires the ballet dancers. The piano player and the ballet coach talk about their passion for what they do and tell how their parents helped them to learn their respective fields.
Ying Li returns and dances as a water nymph, making Mister Rogers feel as if they were all in the water together. Fred loved to meet people whose love for their craft is evident in their actions, and this segment is special in that Fred was able to meet three different artists at one time.
Chuck Aber was a frequent neighbor on the television program, both in Mister Rogers' real world and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. In this oral history, Aber remembers rehearsing for the television operas, specifically "Josephine the Short-Neck Giraffe" and "Spoon Mountain."
"Thoughts for the Week" allow us to read why Fred Rogers presented certain topics on the Neighborhood, and how he tried to help children understand those themes. These thoughts are about fantasy and reality, wishing and hoping.
Fred Rogers quotes Margaret McFarland in this column about a week of Neighborhood programs dealing with fantasy and reality. Fred had a rationale for everything he presented on television, and he wrote columns to help parents and caregivers understand his reasons and motives for each week of Neighborhood programs.
The Fred Rogers Institute Archivist is available for requests and inquiries from students and researchers.