It’s one of the most breathtaking sights you could ever imagine: an exquisitely graceful dancer, brilliantly costumed in the plumage of a mythical, magical bird, rising in the air as a sumptuous score plays live with a full orchestra. That’s what’s in store for audiences when the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem revives its signature work, “Firebird.”
Created for the company and premiered in 1982, this spectacular production reimagines a Russian folk tale about the triumph of love over evil, resetting the story in a luscious Caribbean setting. Danced to Igor Stravinsky’s thrilling score, with choreography by famed ballet icon John Taras, this production brings the fairy tale to life through Tony Award winner Geoffrey Holder’s vibrant sets and costumes.
A milestone in the company’s history, “Firebird” is just one marker of this extraordinary company’s rightful claim to its place as one of the most influential companies in the world of ballet.
The company’s back story is as magical as “Firebird.” It was founded by pioneering dancer Arthur Mitchell, who was one of the first Black dancers ever to breach the color barrier in this classical art, a star in the fabled New York City Ballet. Inspired by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement, Mitchell started the company in a converted garage in Harlem. The original dancers were dancers of color: Black, Asian, Hispanic, brilliantly gifted performers too often shut out of classical ballet.
In 1971, Dance Theatre of Harlem had its first mainstream public performance at the Guggenheim Museum to great acclaim. A prize-winning television special choreographed by Mitchell in 1974 launched a trajectory to fame; by 1979 Dance Theatre of Harlem was touring internationally with a repertoire of 46 ballets, and by the 1980s, the company reached the forefront of the American ballet scene by carving a niche for themselves and infusing new life into works like “Firebird.”
What does it feel like to see Dance Theatre of Harlem’s most famous work? The New York Times praises the theatricality and goosebump-inducing splendor of the work, noting that “Firebird” sends its audience into “a whooping spell of delirium.”
A champion of the company since its own founding in the 1990s, the Virginia Arts Festival has presented Dance Theatre of Harlem in venues throughout southeastern Virginia, and brings the company back this spring to share this vivid, iconic work with audiences of all ages. “There’s simply nothing like it,” said Virginia Arts Festival’s Perry artistic director Robert W. Cross. “Dance Theatre of Harlem is a thrill, no matter what they perform; but seeing them dance ‘Firebird’ should be on everyone’s bucket list.”
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 2026 Virginia Arts Festival engagement will also include performances of ballets by some of today’s most notable choreographers, set to music from Bach to Aretha Franklin and beyond.
March 20 – 22
- Dance Theatre of Harlem: “Firebird” with Virginia Symphony Orchestra
- Chrysler Hall, Norfolk
March 24
- Dance Theatre of Harlem
- CNU’s Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News
To learn more or purchase tickets, visit vafest.org, call 757.282.2822, or visit the VAF Box Office in person at 440 Bank Street, Norfolk.
