Lesson 18:Maria Tallchief American Ballerina

Maria TallchiefAmerican Ballerinaby Miki TerasawaHOUGHTON MIFFLIN

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November 27, 1949November 27, 1949, is a special date in thehistory of American ballet. That night, a balletcalled The Firebird was performed in New YorkCity. When the dancing ended, the audience wentwild. They clapped and stomped and shouted.They cheered, “Tallchief! Tallchief! Tallchief!”The crowd was cheering for a young dancerfrom Oklahoma. She had just danced the role ofthe Firebird. Her name was Maria Tallchief.On that night in 1949, Maria Tallchiefbecame a star.Maria Tallchief’s careeras a ballerina lastedmore than two decades.2

An AmericanBallerinaMaria Tallchiefwas one of the mostimportant ballerinas ofour time. Her dancingwas legendary. Manyballets were createdfor her.Tallchief still holds aunique place in ballethistory. She was the firstAmerican ballerina tobecome internationallyfamous. Before her, therewere no great Americanballerinas. Many peoplebelieved that Americanscould never becomegreat ballet dancers.The Historyof BalletWhy did people believethat Americans couldnever become greatballet dancers? Theanswer lies in ballet’shistory.Ballet began in Franceand Italy over 400 yearsago. It quickly spreadacross Europe. It becamevery popular in Russia. By1900, ballet had reachedAmerica, too. ButAmerican dancers werenot taken seriously.3

Fifth and sixthgraders study inan Indianreservation schoolin Oklahoma.An Osage ChildhoodMaria Tallchief was born Elizabeth Marie TallChief on January 24, 1925, in Fairfax, Oklahoma.Her parents, Alexander and Ruth Tall Chief, calledher “Betty Marie.” A younger sister, Marjorie, wasborn two years later.The little town of Fairfax was part of a NativeAmerican reservation. The reservation was hometo the Osage Nation. Betty Marie’s father,Alexander Tall Chief, was an important member ofthe Osage tribe. Her mother, Ruth Tall Chief, wasof Irish and Scottish background.The Tall Chief home also included Marjorieand Betty Marie’s grandmother, Eliza Tall Chief.Grandma Tall Chief was a traditional Osagewoman. She kept her hair in a braid. She wore anOsage blanket around her shoulders.4

At that time, the Osage, like many NativeAmericans, were not treated fairly by the U.S.government. For example, it was against the lawfor them to perform traditional customs. TheOsage were worried. They feared that this wouldlead to the destruction of their culture.Grandma Tall Chief wanted to keep Osageculture alive. So she taught Betty Marie andMarjorie about their Native American background.She took them to traditional gatherings calledpowwows. Powwows were held secretly on thereservation.At the powwows, BettyMarie watched Osageelders perform traditionalsongs and dances. Yearslater, she remembered thepowwows. She wrote,“The rhythm of thosesongs has stayed with me.”This painting shows an Osageelder in traditional dress.5

6Early TalentBetty Marie and her sister liked dancing tomusic. Both girls were unusually graceful. RuthTall Chief realized that her young daughters werevery talented. She organized dance lessons forBetty Marie and Marjorie.In 1933, the Tall Chief family moved to LosAngeles. There Betty Marie met her firstimportant ballet teacher. Her name was BronislavaNijinska (brah nuh SLAH vuh nuh JIN skuh).Nijinska was from St. Petersburg, Russia. Shehad studied ballet at the famous Imperial TheatreSchool. She had trained many great dancers.

Dancing required endless practice. Nijinskatold Betty Marie, “When you sleep, sleep likeballerina. Even on the street waiting for bus, standlike ballerina!”But Betty Marie did not mind the hard work.She loved studying ballet. She became one ofNijinska’s best students.When Betty Marie turned 17, she decided tobecome a professional dancer. She tried out fordifferent ballet companies. She was accepted by theBallet Russe de Monte Carlo. The Ballet Russe wasa famous ballet company. It had many Russiandancers.Now Betty Marie was a member of the BalletRusse. She traveled with the company. Theyperformed all over the world. Betty Mariedanced almost every night.Many great dancers performed at theImperial Theatre in St. Petersburg,Russia.7

Tallchief, not Tallchieva!Audiences saw Betty Marie’s talent. The BalletRusse saw it, too. The company gave her biggerroles to dance.Then the director of the Ballet Russe made arequest. He asked Betty Marie to change her lastname. He suggested that she change Tall Chief to“Tallchieva.” “Tallchieva” sounded like a Russianname. The director thought that a dancercould only succeed with a Russian name.But Betty Marie did not want aRussian name. “Tall Chief” came fromher Native Americanbackground. She was proudof her name. So she decidedto call herself “MariaTallchief.”Maria Tallchief starred in thefamous ballet Swan Lake.8

George Balanchine was one of the greatestchoreographers of the twentieth century.Meeting George BalanchineThe year 1944 was very important for 19-yearoldMaria Tallchief. That was because she met aman named George Balanchine (ba lun SHEEN).Together they would create some of the mostfamous ballets of the twentieth century.George Balanchine joined the Ballet Russe. Hewas hired as a choreographer. Choreographerscreate new ballets. They also teach them to dancers.9

10In 1944, Balanchine was already considered agenius. His ballets were fresh and different.Audiences had never seen anything like them.Balanchine’s ballets were very difficult. Hisballets made dancers spin faster, jump higher, andmove more gracefully. Many dancers had troubleperforming his ballets.But Maria Tallchief loved dancing Balanchine’sballets. She was not afraid of how difficult theywere. Learning his ballets gave her insights intoher own dancing.Balanchine was inspired by Tallchief’s dancing.He created new dances with starring rolesespecially for her.In 1947, George Balanchine left the BalletRusse. He wanted to start his own ballet companyin New York City. Maria Tallchief left the BalletRusse, too. She joined Balanchine’s new company.

The FirebirdThe new ballet company struggled. They hadtrouble finding an audience. To survive, theyneeded a big success. That success finally came onNovember 27, 1949. That night, Maria Tallchiefdanced The Firebird for the first time.The Firebird is about amagical bird. The Firebirdrescues a prince from aterrible monster. It was themost difficult roleTallchief had ever danced.She had just one week topractice. She workedharder than ever before.Tallchief’s hard workpaid off. Her dancingamazed the audience. Herperformance was fierceand dazzling. She movedwith lightning speed.Maria Tallchief’sperformance as the Firebirdmade her a star.11

12Princess Wa-Xthe-ThonbaThe Firebird made Maria Tallchieffamous around the world. Sheproved that Americans could begreat ballet dancers.In 1953, Tallchiefreceived one of the biggestawards of her life. TheOsage tribe and the state ofOklahoma honored her. They called June29th Maria Tallchief Day. A celebration washeld in her hometown in Oklahoma. People heldup signs that said, “Welcome Home, Maria!”Most importantly, the Osage tribe gave MariaTallchief a special name—Princess Wa-Xthe-Thonba. This means “Princess Two-Standards.”The name had special meaning because Tallchieflived in two worlds. She was both a famousballerina and an important member of the Osagetribe.

Over the next 12 years, Tallchief starred inmany ballets. George Balanchine created morethan 30 roles especially for her. Her wonderfuldancing attracted praise wherever she went.After a long and successful career, MariaTallchief retired in 1965. She shared her love ofdance by teaching ballet. She and her sister,Marjorie (who also became a dancer),formed their own ballet company.In 1996, Maria Tallchief was namedto the National Women’s Hallof Fame.Dance was always a part ofMaria Tallchief’s life.13

A Pioneer of American DanceMaria Tallchief will always be remembered asa pioneer of American dance. She was the firstAmerican ballerina to become world-famous.As Princess Wa-Xthe-Thonba, she was both animportant Osage woman and a great ballerina. Herhistoric performance as the Firebird has neverbeen forgotten. She opened the door for futuregenerations of American dancers.Maria Tallchief wore aceremonial headdress at herhometown celebration.14

RespondingTARGET SKILL Fact and Opinion Think aboutthe facts and opinions the author gives aboutMaria Tallchief. Then copy the chart below. Add anopinion from the story to complete the chart.FactMaria Tallchief wasborn on January 24,1925, in Fairfax,Oklahoma.Opinion?Write About ItText to Self Maria Tallchief was proud of her NativeAmerican background. Think of something aboutyourself that you are proud of. Write a paragraphthat tells what makes you proud of that part ofyourself.15

TARGET VOCABULARYbackgroundcareerdestructioneditionformulahouseholdinsightspublicationrequireduneventfulTARGET SKILL Fact and Opinion Decide whether anidea can be proved or is a feeling or belief.TARGET STRATEGY Analyze/Evaluate Think carefullyabout the text and form an opinion about it.GENRE Biography tells about events in a person’s life,written by another person.16

Level: PDRA: 38Genre:BiographyStrategy:Analyze/EvaluateSkill:Fact and OpinionWord Count: 1,3555.4.18HOUGHTON MIFFLINOnline Leveled BooksISBN-13:978-0-547-02577-3ISBN-10:0-547-02577-71032504