Tulsa Ballet is a professional American ballet company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary performances, training and outreach programs."[1] The Company has toured throughout the United States and the world and has received consistent critical acclaim.
The company was founded in 1956 by musician Rosalie Talbot and married couple Roman Jasinski[2] and Moscelyne Larkin. Jasinski and Larkin were famous dancers who were internationally known for their style in the grand Ballets Russes tradition.[3] Under their leadership, the troupe rose to the top echelon in the National Association for Regional Ballet in 1973 and became a fully professional company in 1978. After a successful engagement at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing ArtsatBrooklyn College in 1983, a 1986 West Coast tour, and a return to BCBC in 1988 to perform George Balanchine's reconstructed Mozart's Violin Concerto, the company was hailed as one of Oklahoma's valuable arts organizations.[4]
In 1990 Roman Larkin Jasinski was appointed to succeed his parents as artistic director of the company. Unfortunately, the company did not thrive under his leadership and at the end of Jasinski's third season, the company began imploding as major conflicts among board members, dancers and the management came to a head. In November 1994, Jasinski tendered his resignation and left the company in chaos.[4]
Renowned Italian dancer Marcello Angelini was appointed Artistic Director of the Tulsa Ballet in 1995. According to Dance Magazine, Angelini managed to solve the internal conflicts within the company and raise the artistic achievements of the company simultaneously. He unified the board members, working well with artistic director emerita Larkin, and establishing friendly relationships with his predecessors. "His gracious yet fierce tenacity, tough professional reputation, and superior negotiating skills soon earned him the nickname 'The Italian Tornado'."[4]
Dance Magazine credits Angelini with building a strong and highly versatile company that is able to tackle both classical and contemporary works by well-known choreographers. The Italian-born, Kiev Institute-trained director is said to expect dancers to achieve a technical level and artistic range comparable to that of the major companies he danced with (Deutsche Oper Berlin, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet West). He is also credited with stating that "to grow a company, you have to stretch the dancer one way, then the other".[5]
Tulsa ballet creates five productions annually in addition to The Nutcracker and reaches an audience of over 48,000 individuals every season. Under Angelini's leadership, the company has undertaken an ambitious repertory building program. For the past eleven years, Tulsa Ballet has added more than 60 new works to its repertory, many of which have been either American Premieres or World Premieres. Many of the world's best choreographers have worked with Tulsa Ballet including: Leonide Massine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Kurt Jooss, John Butler, Nacho Duato (ten works), Val Caniparoli who is its resident choreographer (with seven works and four world premieres), Stanton Welch, Luciano Cannito, Young Soon Hue, Ma Cong, Lila York, Twyla Tharp and many others.[1]
In its first international tour in 2002, Tulsa Ballet was declared by the Portuguese national magazine Semanario “One of the best in the world.” The company has received two feature articles in Dance Magazine during the past seven years, has been featured in the New York Times, Pointe Magazine and Dance Europe among others. In March 2008, Tulsa Ballet was featured on the cover of Pointe magazine- a distinction given to only one ballet company each year.[1] In April 2008, Tulsa Ballet completed an ambitious $17.3 million integrated campaign, which was celebrated at the opening of the brand new Studio K; an on-site, three hundred-seat performance space dedicated to the creation of new works.
^"Karina Gonzalez". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. joined Tulsa Ballet in 2005 from National Ballet of Caracas
^"Ryan Martin". Tulsa World. Tulsa Ballet. Retrieved September 7, 2020. joined Tulsa Ballet in 2000
^"Ashley Blade-Martin". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Soloist, returns for her eighth season with Tulsa Ballet
^"Michael Eaton". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Soloist, is in his fourth season with Tulsa Ballet
^"Kate Oderkirk". Westside Ballet. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet as an apprentice in 2006, was promoted to the corps de ballet a few months later, to demi-soloist in 2009, and to soloist in 2010
^"René Olivier". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Soloist, joined Tulsa Ballet in 1999 as a Demi-Soloist
^"Serena Chu". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist, joined Tulsa Ballet in 1999 from Sarasota Ballet
^"Meet the Dancers: Ke Da". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet in 2007 from the National Ballet of China
^"Jennifer DeWolfe". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; eighth season with Tulsa Ballet (2007)
^"Rupert Edwards". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet during 2004-2005 season
^"Ricardo Graziano". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet in 2005
^"Mugen Kazama". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet in 2007
^"Megan Keough". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist, joined Tulsa Ballet in 2002
^"Meet the Dancers: Deng Mi". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Demi-Soloist; joined Tulsa Ballet in 2007 from the National Ballet of China
^"Kiri Chapman". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet last year (2006)
^"Leah Gallas". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, second season with Tulsa Ballet
^"Ilan Kav". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, first season with Tulsa Ballet
^"Meet the Dancers: Balázs Krajczár". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joins Tulsa Ballet this season from Columbia Classical Ballet
^"Gabriella Limatola". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, comes to Tulsa Ballet this year
^"Nathan McGinnis". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet in 2001 from Kansas City Ballet
^"Meet the Dancers: Masahiro Momose". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet last season from Colorado Ballet
^"Meet the Dancers: Mikhail Ovcharov". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet last season from Royal New Zealand Ballet
^"Daiva Preston". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined us from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
^"Kirk Robison". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joins Tulsa Ballet this season from The Royal Ballet School in London
^"Avichai Scher". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, comes to Tulsa Ballet from the Joffrey Ballet
^"Francesco Sorrentino". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, arrives in Tulsa this season from Italy where he danced with Balletto del Sud
^"Joshua Trader". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet in 2002 from Eugene Ballet
^"Marit van der Wolde". Tulsa Ballet. 2007-2008 season. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joined Tulsa Ballet in 2004
^"Meet the Dancers: Iseda Yuki". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joins Tulsa Ballet this season
^"Meet the Dancers: Zhang Kai". Tulsa Ballet. 2008-2009 season. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. Corps de Ballet, joins Tulsa Ballet this season
