Maria Tallchief (born January 24, 1925) was an American ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965. is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Maya Plisetskaya, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1943 to 1960 and prima ballerina assoluta from 1960 to 1990. ... Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was an influential ballet company that existed from 1932 to 1963. ... Logo of the New York City Ballet The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein originally known as the American Ballet. ...

Early life

Her full name was Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief; her family called her Betty Marie. She was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma on January 24, 1925, to a father who was a chief in the Osage Nation and a Scots-Irish mother. Fairfax is a town located in Osage County, Oklahoma. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Osage Nation is a Native American tribe in the United States, which is mainly based in Osage County, Oklahoma, but can still be found throughout America. ... Ulster-Scots is a term mainly used in Ireland and Britain (Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irishis commonly used in North America) primarily to refer to Presbyterian Scots, or their descendents, who migrated from the Scottish Lowlands to Ulster (the northern province of Ireland), largely across the 17th century. ...

Of her childhood she wrote, "I was a good student and fit in at Sacred Heart (Catholic school). But in many ways, I was a typical Indian girl — shy, docile, introverted. I loved being outdoors and spent most of my time wandering around my big front yard, where there was an old swing and a garden. I'd also ramble around the grounds of our summer cottage hunting for arrowheads in the grass. Finding one made me shiver with excitement. Mostly, I longed to be in the pasture, running around where the horses were..." ^[1].

She enjoyed music, dancing and ballet. Her desire to pursue a career in the arts constituted a considerably challenging dream for a Native American child in those days. The family moved to Beverly Hills, California in 1933, where she studied ballet with Bronislava Nijinska for five years. Madame Nijinska's philosophy of discipline made sense to Tallchief. "When you sleep, sleep like ballerina. Even on street waiting for bus, stand like ballerina" ^[1]. Betty Marie continued to work hard and mastered technical skills well beyond her years. She premiered at the Hollywood Bowl. This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Beverly Hills redirects here. ... For other uses, see Ballet (disambiguation). ... Bronislava Nijinska (January 8, 1891 - February 21, 1972) was a Russian dancer, choreographer, and teacher of Polish descent, also known as Bronislava Fominitshna Nizhinskaya; in Polish language: Bronisława Niżyńska. ... Hollywood Bowl in 2005. ...

New York

Tallchief left Los Angeles at the age of 17 and auditioned in New York City. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and quickly rose to the status of featured soloist. At the suggestion of Agnes de Mille, she adopted the name Maria Tallchief. New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Léon Bakst: Firebird, Ballerina, 1910 There was also the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1932 to 1963 The Ballets Russes was a ballet company established in 1909 by the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev and resident first in the Théâtre Mogador and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris... Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. ...

Georgian born Choreographer George Balanchine wrote several of his most famous works for her. The two were married on August 16, 1946; the marriage ended in 1952. They had no children. She was the first prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1960, where Balanchine was the principal choreographer. Her performance of Balanchine's The Firebird in 1949 and their earlier collaboration at the Paris Opera elevated Maria Tallchief onto the world stage. She also originated the role of the Sugarplum Fairy in Balanchine's version of The Nutcracker. The Georgians (ქართველი ერი (Kartveli Eri) or ქართველები (Kartvelebi) in the Georgian language) are a nation or an ethnic group, originating in the Caucasus. ... Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... George Balanchine (January 9 (O.S.) = January 22 (N.S.), 1904–April 30, 1983) was one of the 20th centurys foremost choreographers, and one of the founders of American ballet. ... A ballerina is a female ballet dancer. ... Logo of the New York City Ballet The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein originally known as the American Ballet. ... The Firebird (French: LOiseau de feu; Russian: Жар-птица, Žar-ptica) is a 1910 ballet by Igor Stravinsky. ... Opéra National de Paris is the leading opera company of France. ... Sugarplum Fairy are a rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. ... The Nutcracker (Russian: , Shchelkunchik) Op. ...

Tallchief continued to dance with the New York City Ballet and with other groups until her retirement in 1965. With her sister Marjorie, she founded the Chicago City Ballet in 1981 and served as its artistic director until 1987. From 1990 to present she has been artistic advisor to Von Heidecke’s Chicago Festival Ballet. Maria had a little sister and ownes a icecream shop. She got married she had 1 baby. Logo of the New York City Ballet The New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein originally known as the American Ballet. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

Personal life

After her marriage to Balanchine ended, Maria briefly married Elmourza Natirboff, an aviator, and later married Henry "Buzz" Paschen, a Chicago builder, on June 3, 1956. The latter marriage lasted until his death in 2003. They had one daughter, Elise Paschen (born 1959), an award-winning poet who served as the Executive Director of the Poetry Society of America from 1988 to 2001, and currently teaches in the writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. is the 154th day of the year (155th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Poetry Society of America A literary orgnization founded in 1910. ... The Art Institute of Chicago is a fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois. ...

Marie Tallchief's younger sister, Marjorie Tallchief, also had a successful career as a ballerina.

Honors

• In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower declared her Woman of the Year.
• When the Governor of Oklahoma honored her that same year for her international achievements and her proud Native American identity, Maria Tallchief was named Wa-Xthe-Thomba ("Woman of Two Worlds").
• She received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1996 along with Johnny Cash, Jack Lemmon, Edward Albee, and Benny Carter ^[2].
  
• In 1999 she was awarded the American National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
• On November 7, 2006, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presented a special tribute to Maria Tallchief titled "A Tribute to Ballet Great Maria Tallchief," in which Tallchief officially named Kenneth von Heidecke as her protégé. ^[3]
• Maria Tallchief is honored in Tulsa, Oklahoma, along with four other Native-American ballerinas (Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin and Marjorie Tallchief), with a larger than life-size bronze statue in the garden of the Tulsa Historical Society.

Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... For the song of the same name, recorded by Tracy Byrd and later by Jason Aldean, see Johnny Cash (song). ... John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001), better known as Jack Lemmon, was a two-time Academy Award and Cannes Award-winning American actor and comedian. ... Edward Franklin Albee III (born March 12, 1928) is an American playwright known for works including Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Zoo Story, The Sandbox and The American Dream. ... Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. ... This article is about the year. ... The National Medal of Arts is an award and title bestowed on selected honorees by the National Endowment for the Arts. ... National Endowment for the Arts logo The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded program that offers support and funding for projects that exhibit artistic excellence. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Elevation The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often referred to simply as the Met, is one of the worlds largest and most important art museums. ... This article is about the state. ... Kenneth von Heidecke (born in Chicago on December 30, 1952) is an American dancer, choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of Von Heidecke’s Chicago Festival Ballet and Von Heidecke School of Ballet. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ... Downtown Tulsa Tulsa is the second-largest city in Oklahoma. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... Rosella Hightower (30 January 1920) was an American ballerina born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. ...

Documentary

A one hour documentary titled Maria Tallchief was completed in November of 2007 by Sandy and Yasu Osawa of Upstream Productionsin Seattle, Washington. The documentary will air on PBS stations at various times from 2007-2010. The film features 180 archival photos including some from Ms. Tallchief's personal collection covering the time period of her marriage to George Balanchine and her early years growing up in Fairfax, Oklahoma. In addition, clips from her performances include Swan Lake, Pas de Dix, Le Baiser de la Fée, The Nutcracker, The Firebird and The Black Swan. The Valse des cygnes from Act II of the Ivanov/Petipa edition of Swan Lake. ... The Nutcracker (Russian: , Shchelkunchik) Op. ... The Firebird (French: LOiseau de feu; Russian: Жар-птица, Žar-ptica) is a 1910 ballet by Igor Stravinsky. ...

External links

• Biography for Maria Tallchiefat the Internet Movie Database
• Maria Tallchief from Upstream Video Productions

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

Pictures

• The Ballerina Gallery - Maria Tallchief

References