Firebird

Music Firebird Suite for Orchestra (1945), from Firebird (1910) by Igor Stravinsky

Choreography by George Balanchine (1949)

City Center Choreography by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins (1970) New York State Theatre

Firebird was one of the first of Balanchine’s works for NYCB. Choreography, sets, and score all unite to great effect in the portrayal of this Slavic folkloric tale. In the 1970’s, Marc Chagall came to New York oversee the creation of his set and costume designs. The resulting costumes and their execution under Madam Karinska are remarkably close interpretations of Chagall’s watercolors.

Rather than a typical solid pieced tutu, Karinska has opted to create the tutu out of strand after strand of double sided fabrics in varying shades of red. This treatment serves two functions. The first strands resemble the brush strokes in the watercolors of Chagall, and the second mean that when the tutu is set in motion by the dancer, the strands resemble the flames of fire.

This image appears on the book cover of “The Juliet Club"“ by Suzanne Harper 2008