Once upon a time, Tulsa Ballet decided not to present âThe Nutcrackerâ during the holiday season.
It was 1971, when members of the balletâs board of directors decided that audiences had grown tired of âThe Nutcrackerâ and that something new â or, at least, different â should be staged in the days before Christmas.
Moscelyne Larkin, one of Oklahomaâs five Native American ballerinas who founded Tulsa Ballet with her husband, Roman Jasinski, recalled that moment during a 2002 interview with the Tulsa World.
âI remember Jascha (her pet name for Jasinski) telling them it would be a mistake,â Larkin said at the time. âBut they insisted and instead we did âCoppeliaâ during the holidays. Now, I love âCoppelia,â but it just didnât work the way âNutcrackerâ works.â