Firebird - San Francisco Ballet

Bird Steps
Many different kinds of birds appear in classical ballets, from the
Swan Queen in Swan Lake, to the Firebird, to the Bluebird in Sleeping
Beauty. Dancers use all kinds of movements of the arms, neck,
head and legs to give the impression of a bird-like quality.
If you were choreographing a ballet about birds, what steps would
you use?
Create a Ballet about Birds
Ask your teacher for a copy of the music from the Firebird.
Using the music from the very beginning of the Firebird’s
entrance, make up your version of the story of a captive
bird.
Try to imagine how you might give the illusion of being
a bird.
- Do you think the Firebird is a small bird like a sparrow,
or a large one like an ostrich?
- Take some time to look at the birds you see around you:
pigeons, sparrows, ducks, crows. How do they move
their heads? Their wings?
- If you wanted to give the impression of flying, how
would you move your arms? How would you use your
legs? What if the bird were swimming or walking?
S A N F R A N C I S C O B A L L E T 17 F I R E B I R D / B L U E R O S E S T U DY G U I D E