Move over, Elsa — there’s a new princess in town. OK, she’s not technically a princess, but I think she’s in line to become the next ruler of the internet, so that counts, right? When little Ainsley Turner went to her dance school’s Princess Day, she didn’t go for Disney. She didn’t even go for storybook princesses. Instead, she dressed up as a hot dog for Princess Day and showed us all how it’s done.
A few weeks ago, teachers at Holly Springs School of Dance in North Carolina tweeted in praise of Ainsley dancing her little hot dog heart out. Note the leg room provided in the back of the costume — the absence of a traditional ballgown/tutu/princess dress should never be an impediment to expressing oneself through dance. One of the teachers, Sarah Nativi, reported that it wasn’t all about the hot dog costume; Ainsley claimed to be wearing a princess costume underneath, saying “she was a princess on the inside!” This is a level of planning, and of adherence both to the letter and the spirit of the law, that I have yet to achieve despite being a few years *cough* older than her.
No word on what the princess costume was underneath, but now I’m terribly curious. Was it a Disney or storybook princess deal? Was it one of those combination superhero/princess dresses? Was it…another hot dog? The public wants to know. However, Ainsley’s father has verified the important stuff, namely a) that the photos are genuine and b) that it was 100 percent his daughter’s idea to dress up as a hot dog.
There’s so much going on in this photo: the cute balletic princessy pose from the girl next to Ainsley, the “I AM A CREATURE OF BEAUTY” stance from the next girl, the “welp” vibe from the girl at the end. But nothing can compare to Ainsley’s look of contentment and self-possession, as though she’s saying to us all, “Today I choose to be a hot dog, for it is in the humble Frankfurter that I find a true sense of nobility. Was not Jesus a lowly carpenter? Did the Buddha not renounce his princely trappings in order to achieve inner peace? Plus, hot dogs are awesome.”
Sources have yet to confirm whether the costume was inspired by Adventure Time’s Hot Dog Princess or whether it arose from a simple, pure love for how good hot dogs are.
Regardless, we salute you, Princess Ainsley Hot Dog The First. May your reign be full of brilliant, ain’t-give-a-damn costumes.
Original by Kelly Kanayama
