The Rite of Spring Léon Vallas opined that Stravinsky had written music 30 years ahead of its time, suitable to be heard in 1940. Coincidentally, it was in that year that Walt Disney released "Fantasia", an animated feature film using music from "The Rite" and other classical compositions, conducted by Stokowski. The "Rite" segment of the film depicted the Earth's prehistory, with the creation of life, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs as the finale. Among those impressed by the film was Gunther Schuller, later a composer, conductor and jazz scholar. The "Rite of Spring" sequence, he says, overwhelmed him and determined his
The Firebird leader. The lead role was fanced by Michel Denard. The Mariinsky Ballet performed the original choreography at Covent Garden in August 2011, as part of their Fokine retrospective. The National Ballet of Canada created a version of the "Firebird" for television, occasionally rebroadcast, in which special effects were used to make it appear that the Firebird is in flight. On 29 March 2012, the American Ballet Theatre premiered the ballet with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, starring Misty Copeland. The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan.