"When the curtain rises in Paris this February, the stage will shimmer in gold, crimson, and feathers. The Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is bringing back not the old Russian fairy tale, but a reimagined vision born from the Caribbean imagination of the late Geoffrey Holder. Choreographed initially to Igor Stravinsky's legendary score, Firebird has always been about transformation. But in Holder's hands, it became something far more vivid, a celebration of Black beauty and myth set in a magical Haiti."
"When Geoffrey Holder Gave Ballet Its Caribbean Wings Holder, a Trinidadian-American artist, dancer, and designer, was known for breaking boundaries. When he first unveiled Firebird in 1982, his costumes caused a stir. The traditional tutu had no front. Critics called it scandalous. "It's absolutely perfect, because you know how the bird has the very slight legs? It accentuates the legs of the female dancer in such a beautiful way," Garland says. "I call her a female superhero - the Storm of ballet.""
Dance Theatre of Harlem will return to French stages in February and March 2026, performing Firebird alongside other works, including an engagement at the Palais des Congrès de Paris. Geoffrey Holder reimagined Stravinsky's Firebird through Caribbean and Haitian-inspired visuals, transforming the ballet into a celebration of Black beauty and myth. The original 1982 production provoked reaction with daring costume choices—jeweled headpieces, sculpted gold crowns, and one-piece unitards in dancers' skin tones, often draped with rope and shimmering fabric. Leo Holder is assisting to revive the original designs while artistic leadership emphasizes the production’s distinct, non-Russian aesthetic.
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