Firebird Fun Facts
After 21 years, Firebird returns to the PNB stage. In honor of this exciting occasion, we’ve gathered some fun facts about the ballet!
PNB Company Dancers in Firebird, photo © Paul Joseph Brown.
1. Kent Stowell’s Firebird premiered in September 1989 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts while PNB was on tour.
2. PNB last performed Firebird in 2005. For some context, the best-selling album in 2005 was X&Y by Coldplay!
1. Set designs from PNB’s production of Firebird. 2. Set designs from the 1910 production of Firebird
3. Legendary designer Ming Cho Lee designed the sets for this production. Lee also designed sets for other PNB productions (Swan Lake, Carmina Burana, and more) and several works choreographed by Martha Graham.
4. When designed PNB’s Firebird, Ming Cho Lee immersed himself in the designs of previous productions, including Marc Chagall’s work for the Balanchine versions. He was also influenced by Kay Nielsen’s paintings.
Tamara Karsavina and Michel Fokine in the 1910 production of Firebird, photographer unknown.
5. Firebird is composer Igor Stravinsky’s first ballet score! This commission led to a fruitful partnership between Stravinsky and The Ballet Russe, which would later include works like The Rite of Spring.
6. Renowned ballerina Anna Pavlova was cast as the Firebird in the original Ballet Russes production. She refused to dance the part after hearing the score and had to be replaced by another dancer.
7. In the original production of Firebird choreographed by Michel Fokine, the Firebird was the only dancer to preform en pointe!
PNB Company dancers as Monsters, photo © Ben Kerns.
8. Costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge is a renowned designer for Broadway and film. Her impressive movie credits include Annie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), and The Great Gatsby (1974).
9. The original Firebird costume was only used for the 1989 and 1990 productions. It consisted of a heavily beaded skirt, a turban, and a headpiece. The beaded skirt made it difficult for the dancers to move. Former Costume Shop manager Larae Hascall designed the more traditional red tutu that has been used since performances in 1993.
Patrica Barker as the Firebird, photo © Ben Kerns.
10. For our 2026 performances, the PNB Costume shop is carefully restoring the Firebird costumes, originally constructed in 1989! This includes creating nine new pairs of pants, six Monster hoods, and one Monster unitard.
11. The Costume Shop is also performing very detailed repairs and adjustments to the costumes. One common (and surprising) adjustment is lengthening the necks of several costumes.
Ming Cho Lee (left) and Kent Stowell (right) take bows at the premiere of Stowell’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in 1987, photo © Angela Sterling.
12. Firebird was the second time Kent Stowell collaborated with scenic designer Ming Cho Lee and costume designer Theoni Aldredge. The first was his production of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, which premiered in June 1987.
Patricia Barker working with Rehearsal Director Jonathan Porretta and PNB Principals Leta Biasucci and Christopher D’Ariano, photo © Lindsay Thomas.
13. Former PNB Principal dancer Patricia Barker was a favorite Firebird in PNB’s version, which was choreographed by PNB Founding Artistic Director Kent Stowell. Now, she returns to the studios to coach the dancers for our 2026 remount of the production!
