The Story and the Ballet. When Fokine was looking for a theme from Russian folklore suitable for a ballet he chose that of the Firebird, and for the ballet scenario he combined various tales "the tale of Ivan Tsarevitch" and " the Bird of light and the Grey Wolf" and others, chiefly from the collection of Afanasiev, taking from each just those elements he needed for his purpose. The story in this book is more complete than the story of the ballet. Fokine's "Firebird" is all here but with more features added, such as the travels and the tasks, taken from the same folk sources. "The Firebird" was first performed by the Diaghileff Ballet Company at the Theatre National de l'Opera in Paris, on June 25th, 1910. The décor and costumes were by Golovine, with the exception of the dresses for the Firebird herself and the Tsarevna (Princess Vasilissa) which were designed by Bakst. Karsavina danced the Firebird, Fokine himself Ivan Tsarevitch (the Prince), Bulgakov appeared as Kostchei, and Fo