This year’s Fanfare shall be presented with a new interpretation of composer Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, “The Firebird,” brought together by the teamwork of professor of dance Dr. Martie Fellom and English instructor Alan Marsh.

Sponsored by the department of fine and performing arts, “The Firebird” will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Vonnie Borden theatre and will feature a new version of the story set apart from the original Russian fairy tale.

The traditional story tells of a magical glowing bird who promises to help a prince defeat an evil sorcerer in exchange for its freedom.

“I’ve always been enchanted with ‘The Firebird’ concept,” said Fellom, who had directed “The Firebird” at Southeastern in 1993, which was set in outer space and dealt with the theme of transformation. In the spring of 2011, Fellom spoke with Marsh on creating a new vision of “The Firebird,” this time with the theme of hope.

“Right now, the economy is really bad,” said Fellom. “I want to do ‘The Firebird,’ but this time, I want something where the firebird is a metaphor for hope, never giving up.”

Marsh, who has written stories for other Southeastern dance performances, such as “Sleepwalker Nocturne,” “The Unicorn,” “The Water Maiden” and “Rapunzel,” agreed with Fellom about creating a new vision of “The Firebird.”

“The traditional ballet deals with a princess and a prince, and I thought that was kind of boring,” said Marsh.

Over the summer, Marsh researched “The Firebird’s” origins and wrote a story using the knowledge of the mythical phoenix, who rose from its ashes anew, and he explored the idea of someone reaching rock bottom to rise up again.

Marsh, who studied birds most of his life, took the characteristics he saw in birds to create families of crows, doves, vultures and owls.

“We look at birds, and we see certain characteristics that remind us sometimes of human characteristics,” said Marsh.

According to Fellom, the firebird is being created throughout the story, rather than preexisting. In this story, the firebird starts out as a flamingo, whose egg was left by accident with a family of crows and grows up with this different flock of birds.

“The symbolism behind that for humans is that this bird never gives up,” said Fellom. “It is synonymous with the phoenix because the phoenix rises from the ashes of total despair. So in this sense, the firebird represents hope, which is what we need right now.”

The performance will combine Marsh’s story with the choreography of four students, with added elements including lighting design by Ellen Lipkos and costume design by Artie Fellom Gautier. According to Fellom, the dancers will be working in light boundaries onstage during the performance, and the costume for the firebird will gradually transform.

“The firebird costume is actually three costumes that are the same, but as the firebird becomes who she is, her colors become more brilliant,” said Gautier.

Student choreographers selected for the production are psychology junior Giara Major, general studies senior Ashli Tallo, dance senior Kaleigh Brandt and Southeastern alumna Diamond Williams. Each choreographer researched birds to design abstract movement motifs related to their particular flock of birds to reflect Marsh’s story.

“Sometimes when you look at a story translated through dance, it’s so thematic and not always that literal that you can make up your own story,” said Marsh.

Along with the student choreographers and dancers, there are other students assisting in the production. A techno-beat to Stravinsky’s music was created by management senior Steven Ban to introduce each species of birds during the prologue of the performance.

English junior Quinn Kennedy will appear intermittently during the performance to observe and recite famous quotations ranging from the ancient Greeks to now. The performance will also include videography created by art senior Laura Moore and communication senior Allegra Weldon.

“What is so exciting about this is that this is a collaborative effort for so many people,” said Fellom.

For more information about the performance, contact Fellom at 985-549-2133. The event is free to the public.

“When people leave the theatre, I want the journey for them to be where they can relate to those birds in a way and see a story of hope,” said Fellom.