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Native American Celebrities -- Part 3
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Many little girls dream of becoming prima ballerinas when they grow up, but few ever make it. The training is long, hard, and often overwhelming. Native American girls share the same dream as their white counterparts, but even fewer of them have the resources to pay for the lessons.
Maria Tallchief was an exception to that rule. The daughter of a chief of the Osage Nation, she was born in 1925 in Oklahoma. Her father negotiated a treaty which allowed his tribe to keep the lucrative oil rights to their land. Afterwards, he moved his family to Beverly Hills, California.
After studying ballet in Los Angeles with Bronislava Najinska – the sister of the famed dancer Vaslav Najinski – Maria joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She eventually became the first prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet in 1947.
Tallchief developed a close relationship with company’s choreographer George Balanchine. He married her in 1946, and created many of his best-known dances for her, including “The Firebird.” She remained with the company after her 1952 divorce from Balanchine. But in 1965, she retired from the stage, not wanting to dance past her prime. She eventually founded the Chicago City Ballet in the 1980s.
In 1996, she was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation’s highest recognition for achievement in the arts.
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