Dancing with Fire Gay choreographer James Kudelka creates a new Firebird for Houston Ballet by Ann Walton Sieber

The Houston Ballet is presenting a dazzling new version of The Firebird, created by openly gay choreographer and ballet impressario James Kudelka. Described as a "kinetic poet of loneliness, isolation, misunderstanding, and repression," Kudelka has brought his moody rich sensibility to this fairy-tale ballet of opulent exoticism.

Known for his themes of love, death, and sex, Kudelka’s past works include Death of an Old Queen (which is just what it sounds like), and the 1992 Fifteen Heterosexual Duets. ("Calling that piece ‘Fifteen Heterosexual Duets’ meant I could say that this was removed from me," Kudelka said. "I was naming it for what it was.") Kudelka was born in a small Canadian farming community, and escaped by entering the National Ballet School of Canada at age 10, "an ultra-serious child who wore fishbowl glasses and carried a briefcase." After a life of dance highs and lows, the shy and prolific 45-year-old choreographer has been hailed by the New York Times as "the most imaginative voice to come out of ballet in the last decade," and "not only Canada’s premiere ballet choreographer, but also one of the best in the world today."

Kudelka has created the Firebird as a three-way coproduction, with expenses shared between the Houston Ballet, Kudelka’s National Ballet of Canada (where it premiered in November), and the America Ballet Theatre.

The Firebird was created by Serge Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes, and premiered in Paris in 1910, with music by the then-unknown Igor Stravinsky. Built on a pastiche of Russian fairy tales, Firebird tells the story of a prince who captures a magic bird, who is really a girl who has been enchanted by an evil sorcerer. The ballet opens with a renowned 10-minute solo by the sensual and frenetic firebird. (Lauren Anderson and Barbara Bears alternate dancing this daunting role.) The prince uses the firebird’s powers so that he can battle the wizard and gain the love of one of the maidens under his spell.

To give his Firebird its own distinctive opulence, Kudelka has brought in Santo Loquasto as designer. Among a multitude of credits, the Tony Award-winning designer has given several of Woody Allen’s movies their look. Kudelka and Loquasto decided to transplant The Firebird from Russia to "an imaginary primitive society in South America–so that means we get to have wonderful headpieces and exotic reptilian monsters," Kudelka said. "We were looking for a different motif that would still pay homage to the fabulous exoticism of the Ballets Russes."

A huge production, the resplendent costumes (and "yards of yards of bright spangly materials") enliven ghoulish monsters and jungle beasts like jaguars, warthogs, lizards, and snakes, in "an extravagant parade of spectacular headdresses, masks, and costumes." (Move over, Miss Camp America.) "The Lion King meets Serge Diaghilev," the NYT rather tartly comments. It sounds like glittering high fun to us.

Another Firebird change is that Kudelka bolsters the part of the prince. As one ballotemane remarked about Kudelka: "The traditional requirements of the male lead in ballet–act straight, help the ballerina show off–have never seemed natural to this gay former dancer. Accordingly, the main focus in Kudelka’s Firebird is on the prince. The story is his journey, his path to self-discovery and manhood." Kudelka says of the prince, "He is a wonderful fawn-like figure. The ballet is his story–a calm and righteous young warrior who triumphs over a horrible court."

Houston Ballet presents The Firebird, along with Five Poems, choreographed by Ben Stevenson, Thu.—Sat., Feb. 22—24 & Mar. 1—3, 7:30 p.m. (no show Sat., Feb. 23), and Sun., Feb. 24 & Mar. 4, 2 p.m., Wortham Theater, 713/227-ARTS, $11.50—$101.50.