The Nutcracker
Christensen’s creation had its 75th Anniversary during the 2019-2020 season. In 1954 George Balanchine staged The Nutcracker in New York City. People liked it. When it was aired on television in 1957 and 1958, the ballet became more famous than ever. Balanchine's television Nutcracker had enough fun in it for people who had not seen a ballet, and enough dancing in it to please the ballet lovers who watched it. In the 1960s small ballet companies started producing The Nutcracker because it could make money and, in doing so, keep the company in business.