The Firebird & La Creation du Monde

April 12 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm

Adler Theatre, Davenport, Iowa

The Firebird

Music by Igor Stravinsky

Choreography by Courtney Lyon

The Firebird (1910) is based on old Russian folk tales which Igor Stravinsky used as inspiration in his exotic score. The Firebird ballet tells the story of Prince Ivan who defeats the evil Kastchei with the help of the Firebird, who offers one of her enchanted feathers to Prince Ivan after he spares her life while hunting in the forest. The feather is later used by Prince Ivan to summon the Firebird when he needs her help as Kastchei’s creatures chase after him. The Firebird’s magic makes Kastchei and his creatures fall into a deep sleep so that Prince Ivan can destroy the egg that contains Kastchei’s immortal soul, freeing everyone under his spell including 5 princesses, one of whom Prince Ivan falls in love with and marries.

La Creation du Monde (The Creation of the Earth)

Music by Darius Milhaud

Choreography by Courtney Lyon

La Creation du Monde is Darius Milhaud’s 1923 ode to New York’s Harlem jazz music. Courtney Lyon has reimagined this astronomical, imagery-laced original creation for Ballet Quad Cities as a mythical journey from primordial soup and spontaneous generation to ancient origin stories to revolving celestial bodies and beyond.