Stravinsky Fairy Tales

Ratmansky – who was artist in residence with American Ballet Theatre from 2009 and will hold the same position with New York City Ballet from July 2023 – was enthralled by Stravinsky’s music from an early age. The Russian-American choreographer is a master in reinterpreting famous ballets, folk tales and fairy tales, including The Snow Queen and The Firebird – fairy tales that previously inspired Stravinsky to write two wonderful scores.

Frozen

Stravinsky’s Le baiser de la fée, composed in 1928 for Les Ballets Russes, is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, which also formed the basis of the Disney hit Frozen. During a snowstorm, a boy is saved by the kiss of a fairy. Years later, on the eve of his wedding, the fairy returns to claim him, sealing his fate with an icy kiss.
The legend of the firebird was the inspiration for Stravinsky’s L’Oiseau de feu from 1910. It tells the story of the tsar’s son Ivan, who captures a firebird in a magical garden. When she manages to escape, Ivan gets one of her feathers, which will save him in times of need.

Moving and passionate

Ratmansky has interpreted both fairy tales in dance in an extremely original way. In Ratmansky’s hands, The Fairy’s Kiss – with gorgeous sets and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan – becomes a moving story of a choreographer who cannot escape his fate. His passionate Firebird is a feast for the eyes, in which his firebird also stands for a force of nature that is difficult to evade.