first time by saying, "it's always interesting to hear one's imitators." Subsequent ballet performances The Firebird was first revived in 1934 by Colonel Wassily de Basil's company, the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, in a production staged in London, using the original decor and costumes from Diaghilev's company. The ballet was staged by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet in 1949 with Maria Tallchief as the Firebird and scenery and costumes by Marc Chagall, and was kept in the repertory until 1965. The company restaged it in 1970 for the David H. Koch Theater, with new costumes by Karinska based on Chagall's original designs. Jerome Robbins collaborated with Balanchine to choreograph the restaging. The National Ballet of Canada created a version of the Firebird for television in 2003, in which special effects were used to make it appear that the Firebird is in flight. The Mariinsky Ballet performed the original choreography at Covent Garden in August 2011 as part of their Fokine retrospective, with Ekaterina Kondaurova as the Firebird. On 29 March 2012, the American Ballet Theatre premiered the ballet with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, starring Natalia Osipova. The Royal Ballet staged 6 performances of the ballet at the Royal Opera House in June 2019, with Yasmine Naghdi performing the role of the Firebird. Synopsis The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of the evil Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life, and he spares her. As a token of thanks, she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need. Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them, Tsarevna. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). Exhausted, the creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the