The Firebird

Accompanied by the West Texas Symphony

March 29 & 30, 2025
at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center

We’re bringing you not just one, but three exciting ballets! We’ll begin with rattling tambourines and rustling tutus of Nadia Thompson’s Grand Tarantella. Next, feel the rythmn and the rhyme with all the animals in Pearl Wamsley’s award winning contemporary ballet, The Incredible Petes. Finally, we’ll join Prince Ivan as his search for golden apples becomes a much grander adventure in our featured ballet, George Skibine’s The Firebird. This old fairytale has it all: magical creatures, daring battles, an enchanted forest, an imprisoned princess - you don’t want to miss it.

This performance will also feature principal dancers of New York City Ballet Unity Phelan and Jovani Furlan. They'll perform the iconic and daring Black Swan Pas de Deux from Swan Lake. Don't miss your chance to see these world-renowned dancers right here in West Texas.

Underwritten by

additional support

This project is supported in part by assistance from Odessa Arts

Guest Artists

Guest Artists Spring

Unity Phelan of New York City Ballet - Odile, the Black Swan

Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey and began her dance training at the age of five at the Princeton Ballet School, where her teachers included Douglas Martin, Maria Youskevitch, and Mary Barton.

During the summers of 2008 and 2009, Ms. Phelan attended the summer sessions at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, and enrolled as a full-time student in fall of 2009.

She became an apprentice with NYCB in December 2012 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2013.

In February 2017, Ms. Phelan was promoted to the rank of soloist, and in October 2021, she was promoted to principal dancer.

Jovani Furlan of New York City Ballet - Prince Siegfried

Born in Joinville, Brazil, Mr. Furlan started dancing at the age of 11 at The Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil.

In 2010 he participated in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and was offered a full scholarship to attend the Miami City Ballet School by Edward Villella.

Mr. Furlan began his training at the MCB School in 2011 and joined Miami City Ballet in 2012. He was promoted to soloist in 2015 and was named an MCB principal dancer in 2017.

At MCB, his repertory of featured roles included George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Ballet Imperial, Episodes, Jewels, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, Serenade, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Square Dance, Swan Lake, Symphony in Three Movements, Theme and Variations, and La Valse; Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering, West Side Story Suite, and The Concert; as well as works by Richard Alston, John Cranko, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Liam Scarlett, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Mr. Furlan joined NYCB as a soloist in August 2019 and in February 2022 he was promoted to principal dancer.

Sofie Bertolini of Ballet San Antonio - The Firebird

Since joining Ballet San Antonio in 2014, Sofie Bertolini has enjoyed an incredibly diverse range of roles. Some of her favorites include Juliet in Edward Liang’s Romeo and Juliet, Carmen and Giselle in their namesakes, and Lucy in Dracula. She has also had the pleasure of performing featured roles in George Balanchine’s Rubies, Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake, Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast, and Dominic Walsh’s The Whistling.

Hailing from Austin, TX, Bertolini began her training at age four at Austin Dance Academy under Arletta Howard-Logan and later Ballet Austin under Bill Piner and Lynne Short, with additional training at Boston Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. After becoming a Trainee with Ballet Austin under Michelle Martin and Stephen Mills in 2009, Bertolini’s professional career continued with smaller workshop-oriented companies also based in Austin, TX, where she was able to explore her interest in choreography as well as performing featured roles in both classical and non-classical works. 

Rivard Report’s Tami Kegley writes, “Special kudos go to Sofie Bertolini for her sass and vinegar. She not only performed [The Whistling] immaculately, she brought it alive with toughness and humor that was sublime.”

Patric Palkens - Prince Ivan

Born in Boston, Patric began his dance training at the age of 4 at his mother's jazz studio. He was introduced to ballet through a scholarship to train with the Municipal theater Ballet School in Santiago, Chile. After which he trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Orlando Ballet.

Palkens has performed with numerous companies over his sixteen-year career. Including Orlando ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, the Washington Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and spent five years as a soloist with Boston Ballet.

Over the years Palkens has performed many works by choreographers from around the globe including, George Balanchine, Fredrick Ashton, Miko Nissinen, Wayne Mcgregor, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Val Caniparoli, Devon Carney, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ma Cong, Adam Hougland, James Kudelka, Victoria Morgan, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Septime Webre.

Michael Agudelo of Ballet San Antonio - Kostchei the Immortal

 In his time with Ballet San Antonio, Michael Agudelo has performed such roles as Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Albrecht in Giselle, Basilio in Don Quixote, Siegfried in Swan Lake, The Prince in Cinderella, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, and especially enjoyed performing as Escamillo in Yosvani Cortellan’s Carmen and Mercutio in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet.

Previously, Agudelo performed such roles as Cavalier in The “Manhattan” Nutcracker, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Prince Charmant in The Sleeping Beauty with Minnesota Ballet.

The Duluth News Tribune wrote of Michael’s “sharply articulated performance,” “[Best are] those moments at the apex of his jumps when he freezes for a split second before descending back to earth.”

He began at Ballet Spartanburg under Carlos Agudelo and Lona Gomez and continued with Harid Conservatory and Varna Gold Medalist Stanislav Issaev at South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts. He went on to win second place in the Youth America Grand Prix Regionals and compete as a finalist in New York

In his spare time, he makes videos for his YouTube channel “Mikestarwalker” with over 100,000 subscribers.

Zachary Bennett of Ballet San Antonio

Zach began dancing at 13 focusing on Hip Hop and Jazz at the Danscompany of Gainesville and would later start Ballet at the age of 16. Once he received his Associate of Arts degree, he joined the Margaret Barbieri Conservatory at The Sarasota Ballet on a scholarship after attending their summer intensive. From there, he joined and completed his school training at The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School under Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernandez. He then joined Milwaukee Ballet as a member of their second company where he performed with the company. He then joined Ballet San Antonio in 2019. He has performed works by choreographers such as Michael Pink, Timothy O’Donnell, Bruce Wells, George Balanchine, Edwaard Liang, Patrick Armand, Robert Barnett, and Brian Enos.

His repertoire includes ballets such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Dracula, Coppelia, Serenade, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Performance highlights include Arabian Coffee and Snow King in BSA’s The Nutcracker, Espada in Armand’s Don Quixote, Rustics in Well’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and March Hare in Enos’ Alice in Wonderland.

The Story

The Story of The Firebird

Hunting in a forest, Prince Ivan finds an enchanted garden with a tree of Golden Apples. A Bird of Fire appears, and Ivan captures her. When he decides to free her, she rewards him with a magic feather to use in summoning her in times of danger.

A procession of lovely maidens enters the Garden, led by Tsarevna the Beautiful. They are all forbidden to leave the Garden by the evil and immortal sorcerer, Kostchei. Many noble men have tried to free the princesses, but Kostchei has turned them all into monsters. Ivan greets the maidens and immediately falls in love with Tsarevna.

Before Ivan and Tsarevna can attempt to escape, Kostchei appears with all his creatures. Ivan summons the Firebird, who defeats Kostchei with her stronger spell.

In the final scene, Ivan and Tsarevna are married, and all the princesses are reunited with their betrothed nobles, now released from Kostchei's spell.

About the Choreographers

George Skibine

Choreographer of The Firebird

George Skibine was born in 1920 in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia. His father was a member of Ballet Russe. George began performing with Ballet Russe at age 5 and joined the company as a professional at age 17. He eventually came to New York to dance with American Ballet Theatre in 1941 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen the following year. He served as a soldier in the U.S. military during World War II. He was one of the Ritchie Boys, a group of military intelligence officers who used their language skills to obtain intel from the Axis powers during the War. He resumed his dance career post-war. In 1947, he danced with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas, where he met and married American ballerina, Marjorie Tallchief. After a brief stint with Ruth Page’s Chicago Opera Ballet, he and his wife were called to the Paris Opera Ballet to become “premier danseur etoile,” the first Americans to be so honored. He served as Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet, Harkness Ballet in New York, and Dallas Civic Ballet. Skibine remained in Dallas, Texas for the remainder of his life, building the Dallas Ballet into a nationally acclaimed company.

Repetiteur of The Firebird
Known as one of the most energetic and inspiring teachers across the country, Thom Clower’s “evangelistic” approach to teaching has touched the lives and careers of dancers around the world for 40 years. With extensive training in the Vaganova, Balanchine, Cecchetti, and Bournonville styles, Mr. Clower combines the qualities of each one to present a technique that is true and versatile.
Making his stage debut at the age of six, Mr. Clower began his professional training with George Skibine and Marjorie Tallchief at the Dallas Civic Ballet in 1968. He received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York for two consecutive years, and studied in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. He joined Dallas Ballet in 1978 where he spent eleven seasons performing with the company under Mr. Skibine and Flemming Flindt, and served as assistant Ballet Master for Dallas Ballet’s 1980 South American tour. As Ballet Master, Mr. Clower assisted Flindt in staging his full-length NUTCRACKER, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and PHAEDRA, and personally administrated the staging of Alvin Ailey’s THE RIVER, John Cranko’s JEU DE CARTES, Jeri Kylian’s ENGULFED CATHERDRAL, Fokine’s PRINCE IGOR and LES SYLPHIDES, and many others.
Mr. Clower served as Founding Artistic Director of the restructured Ballet Dallas and the affiliate school, the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet. Under his direction, Ballet Dallas was the resident professional ballet company for the Dallas area for eight years, carrying on the traditions of the former company. Mr. Clower served as Ballet Master for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, working closely with founding Artistic Director Lou Conte. In this capacity, he was primary teacher for the company and rehearsal director for works by Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezerlow, and Kevin O’Day. Mr. Clower then served four seasons as Artistic Director of Yuma Ballet Theatre (AZ), and Ballet Master of the affiliate school, Dancers Workshop. He was a regular guest teacher at Allegro Ballet of Houston from 2009-2018.
As a representative of the George Skibine Trust, Mr. Clower helps maintain the integrity of Mr. Skibine’s ballets, staging them across the country.
He served on selection panels for the City of Dallas, Tarrant County, and both the Texas and Arizona Commission on the Arts Peer Review Panels. He was awarded the prestigious Legacy Award for Achievement in the Arts by the Dallas Dance Council in 2000, and placed in the Yuma Ballet Theatre’s Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2017 he was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Dance Council of North Texas.
Believing strongly in Regional Dance America, Mr. Clower has been the Director of Ballet at many RDA Craft of Choreography Conferences (NCI). He has been a guest teacher for Regional Festivals since 1992 and was a guest teacher at the RDA National Festivals in 1997, 2007, and 2017. Mr. Clower has proudly served as Adjudicator for RDA/NE (00), RDA/Mid States (03, 20), SERBA (13, 19), and RDA/SW (17 National Festival in Phoenix, AZ). He was Ballet Faculty at The Glenda Brown Choreography Project many times since its inception.
Mr. Clower has staged and created ballets for companies all over the United States. He has also worked with many opera companies, including the Santa Fe Opera, the Dallas Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Dallas. Companies have performed his choreography all over the world.
Since 2001 Thom Clower has worked around the world as a freelance master teacher and choreographer. His work has included regional companies and schools, and he has been a guest teacher at professional companies such as Oklahoma City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Atlanta Ballet. He has been a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center, Associate Ballet Master for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and has served annually as Ballet Master for Young! Tanzsommer – Stars of Tomorrow International since 2002.
Choreographer of Grand Tarantella
Nadia Thompson is a Ballet Master, Master Teacher, Repetiteur and Choreographer, and has held faculty positions at prominent ballet companies all over the world. She is the Former Ballet Mistress at Royal New Zealand Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet; and she is a Repetiteur for, and stages ballets for numerous choreographers, such as Riccardo De Nigris, Michael Pink, and Timothy O’Donnell.
Ms. Thompson trained at the Royal Ballet School, in London, and at the Frances Davis Thompson School of Ballet, in Brisbane Australia. Dancing as a leading artist throughout Europe and the USA with Boston Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre and London City Ballet, Ms. Thompson performed all major roles in the classical repertoire and created many modern and contemporary works working with Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, Mark Morris and Lila York, among others. She obtained her Solo Seal and was awarded the Adeline Genee Bronze medal by Dame Margot Fonteyn. Ms. Thompson has taught and coached throughout Europe, Australia and the United States, with guest appointments as Master Teacher and Repetiteur, for dozens of companies, including English National Ballet, Royal Ballet, Polish National Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet.
Choreographer of The Incredible Petes
Pearl Wamsley received her ballet training at Coleman Academy and Midland Festival Ballet, and was a member of the MFB Company for 6 years. She received additional training from the Milwaukee Ballet and Burklyn Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive Programs. She has attened the National Choreography Intensive many times as both a dancer and choreographer. She has received numerous awards for her choreography including the Monticello Award for Melodic Lines in 2012, the Natalie Skelton Award for Ta Da! in 2014, and the National Choreography Award for The Incredible Petes in 2017 and Collective Effervescence in 2019. Pearl has created works for various companies including Abilene Ballet Theater, Allegro Ballet, Appalachian Ballet Company, Midland Festival Ballet, and Victoria Ballet Theater.
Pearl earned her BFA in Graphic Design from Hardin Simmons University in 2015. She’s since moved back to Midland with her husband and 2 rabbits. As an MFB Alum, she’s enjoying combining her insider knowledge with her “new super powers” (photography, communication skills, and social media prowess) to support and further MFB’s mission.