Maria Tallchief

At 88 years old, Maria Tallchief has this physical status:

Elizabeth Marie "Betty" Tallchief (Osage family name: Ki He Kah Tsa; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American ballerina.

Tallchief was the first Native American to hold the rank, beginning with formal instruction at the age of three.

When she was eight years old, her family moved from Fairfax, Oklahoma, to Los Angeles, California, to continue her and her younger sister, Marjorie. Maria Tallchief escaped from New York City at the age of 17, seeking a position with a major ballet company, and she took the name Maria Tallchief at her boss's behest.

She spent five years with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she met legendary choreographer George Balanchine.

Tallchief was the company's first actor when Balanchine co-founded what would become the New York City Ballet in 1946.

Tallchief's 1949 appearance in The Firebird boosted the ballet world, establishing her as a prima ballerina.

The Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker transformed the ballet from obscure to America's most popular. She travelled around the world, becoming the first American to perform in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater.

She appeared on American television before retiring in 1966.

Tallchief was instrumental in Chicago's revival of ballet after recovering from dance.

All Chief was honoured by the people of Oklahoma with multiple statues and an honorific day during her tenure as ballet director for the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the majority of the 1970s.

She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and was awarded a National Medal of Arts.

Tallchief was given a Kennedy Center Honor in 1996 for his lifetime contributions.

Multiple documentaries and biographies have been published about her life.

Early life

Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief (her birth name) was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1925, to Alexander Joseph Tall Chief (1890-1989), a member of the Osage Country, and Ruth (née Porter), of Scottish-Irish descent. To friends and relatives, Elizabeth Marie was referred to as "Betty Marie." While visiting her sister, who was his mother's housekeeper at the time, Porter met Alexander Tall Chief, a widower.

Peter Bigheart, Elizabeth Tall Chief's paternal grandfather, had aided in negotiations with the Osage Nation in terms of oil deposits, which had enriched the Osage Nation. Her father grew up as a result of his job, but he never worked "a day in his life." Tallchief wrote, "I felt my father owned Fairfax, Oklahoma, as a young girl growing up on the Osage reservation." He owned property around the country. He owned the local movie theater on Main Street and the pool hall opposite. On a hill overlooking the reservation, our 10-room, a terracotta-brick house, stood on a ledge. The family spent summers in Colorado Springs to escape the Oklahoma heat. However, her father was a binge drinker and her parents often fought over money.

Tallchief had five children, three from her father's first marriage to a German immigrant; and Thomas (191999–1981), who played football for the University of Oklahoma; Gerald (1922-1999), who was kicked in the head by a horse and never recovered normal cognitive function; and Thomas (19191994–1999). Marjorie, Ruth's second child and Betty Marie's "best friend," was a natural ballerina in her own right.

Ruth Porter had aspired to be a performer as a child, but her family was unable to afford dance or music lessons. She was determined that her children would not suffer the same fate. Betty Marie was enrolled in summer ballet lessons in Colorado Springs at the age of 3. At rodeos and other local functions, she and other family members appeared. Tall Chief studied piano and considered becoming a concert pianist.

Mrs. Sabin, a ballet teacher from Tulsa, visited Fairfax in 1930 and took on Betty Marie and Marjorie as students. Tallchief wrote about Sabin many years ago, "She was a wretched instructor who never taught the basics, and it's a miracle that I wasn't permanently wounded." Tall Chief was on point right away when she began the classes (at 5 years old), but she was too young to be able to dance without injury to be able to dance on pointe.

Tall Chief was enrolled at Sacred Heart Catholic School in the nearby neighborhood at age five. The teachers encouraged her to skip the first two grade levels due to her reading skills. Tall Chief had little free time between piano, ballet, and school work, but enjoyed the outdoors. She recalled time spent "wandering around our big front yard" and "[rambling] around the grounds of our summer cottage hunting for arrowheads in the grass.

The family moved to Los Angeles in 1933 with the intention of bringing the children to Hollywood musicals. When they landed in Los Angeles, her mother asked the clerk at a local drugstore if they knew any good dance teachers. Ernest Belcher, the father of dancer Marge Champion, was recommended by the clerk. "An anonymous man in a strange place ruled our destiny with those few words," Tall Chief recalled later. Tall Chief was returned to the appropriate grade for her age, but she was placed in a Learning Opportunity class for advanced learners by the University of California. "Whether you like it or not, I was still way ahead," she recalled. "I had nothing to do and so I walked around the schoolyard by myself." Tall Chief was forced to stand at this point, most likely saving her from serious injury.

Tall Chief was forced to dance in Belcher's studio after being bored with school. She learned tap, Spanish dancing, and acrobatics there in addition to ballet, which she had previously been doing all wrong and returned to square one. She found it difficult and eventually dropped out of the class, but the skills were honed later in life. The family then migrated to Beverly Hills, where better academics were available. Tall Chief Beverley suffered with "painful" discrimination, and she began referring to her last name as "tallchief" in Beverly Vista School. She continued to study piano, performing as a guest soloist in small symphony orchestras throughout high school.

Tallchief began working with Bronislava Nijinska, a well-known choreographer who had recently opened her own studio in Los Angeles, and David Lichine, a choreographer and former dancer, at age 12. Tallchief recalled Nijinska "was a personification of what ballet was all about." "I looked at her, and I knew this was what I wanted to do." Nijinska had a keen sense of discipline and a strong belief that being a ballerina was a full time job. Tallchief recalled, "We didn't concentrate for an hour and a half a day." "We lived it." Tallchief had decided that ballet was what she wanted to dedicate her life to under Nijinska. "I loved ballet before Nijinski, but I thought I was going to be a concert pianist," she said. "Now my aim was different." Tallchief was serious, and Nijinska began paying great attention to her.

In the Hollywood Bowl, Tallchief was 15, Nijinska decided to stage three ballets. Tallchief had hoped for a lead role, but instead was placed in the corps de ballet. "I was hurt and humiliated." She was devastated. I couldn't figure out what was going on... I couldn't figure out what was going wrong.

Didn't she love me anymore?"

Tallchief dedicated herself and soon found herself in Chopin Concerto after a pep talk from her mother. She slipped during rehearsal and was worried, but Nijinska dismissed it as "happens to everybody." During Tallchief's visit to Los Angeles, various respected teachers also taught the boy. Ada Broadbent performed her first pas de deux on Sunday. Mia Slavenska shined in Tallchief, arranging for her to audition for Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's director Serge Denham. He was impressed, but nothing came of it.

Personal life

Tallchief dated Alexander "Sasha" Goudevitch, the company's darling, during her first year at Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Tallchief recalled, "It was our first love for both of us." "We saw each other every day, and I was sure it was true love." Goudevitch screamed for more money and bought Tallchief an engagement ring. However, he had a sudden change of heart in the spring of 1944 when another young woman began to pursue him. "My heart was broken," Tallchief later described.

Since being recruited by Ballet Russe, George Balanchine was immediately attracted to Tallchief, both professionally and personally. She was unaware he was feeling this way: "It never occurred to me that there was anything more than dancing on his mind." It would have been preposterous to believe there was anything personal." Even though their friendship became more personal, Balanchine asked Tallchief to marry him, causing a surprise. After a Los Angeles appearance in 1945, he invited her to meet him during the summer of 1945. Balanchine opened the car door for her, and when she arrived inside, he sat in silence for a moment before saying, "Maria, I would like you to become my wife." "But, George, I'm not positive I love you," she said. I'm not sure if I know you." He denied that it mattered, and if the marriage only lasted a few years, it was all right with him. Tallchief accepted his bid after a day of being stuck on it.

Her mother became ecstatic when she told her parents about the wedding: "I've never heard of anything more stupid." "What's wrong with you?" Balanchine was unshaken by her protest, insisting that she would return later. Balanchine made lavish romantic gestures and treated Tallchief with adoration as they were engaged. "He was obviously attempting to convince me [that our marriage] was inevitable," she wrote. "I didn't need convincing." "I was falling in love."

Tallchief and Balanchine were married on August 16, 1946, when she was 21 years old and he was 42. Her parents continued to condemn the marriage and did not attend the wedding. The couple did not have a traditional wedding reception: "Work was more important to us both of us."

"Passion and love didn't play a lot in our married life," Tallchief said. We saved our emotions for the classroom." Nonetheless, she referred to Balanchine as a "warm, affectionate, loving husband." In 1952, when both parties were attracted to other people, their marriage was annulled.

Tallchief married Elmourza Natirboff, a pilot for a private charter airline, in 1952. Two years ago, the couple wedish divorced. "He was very upbeat, outgoing, and knew nothing about ballet," she recalled in 1955. Following June, the pair married in Europe and honeymooned with a ballet tour. Elise Maria Paschen (born 1959), the Poetry Society of America's award-winning poet and executive director, was her only child with Paschen. Tallchief also acquired Margaret Wright, a stepdaughter who was born in Tallchief during this union. And through Paschen's brief stint in jail for tax evasion until his death in 2004, the pair remained together.

Tallchief used to be straight in expressing her opinion, but never mincing words. "It gave her the appearance of being a diva," Tallchief protégé Kenneth von Heidecke said, "but it was really a keen sense of honesty."

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Career

Tallchief descended on Beverly Hills High School in 1942. She had quit piano and wanted to attend college, but her father was against it. "I've paid for your lessons all my life," he said. "Now it's time for you to find a job." She appeared in Presenting Lily Mars, an MGM musical starring Judy Garland, for a short time. The dancing in the film was "not gratifying" and Tallchief decided against making a career out of it. Tatiana Riabouchinska, a family friend, asked Tallchief if they wanted to go to New York this summer. She began exploring the big city at age 17 in 1942 with Riabouchinska chaperoning.

Tallchief Serge Denham was up for a challenge in New York once. The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo did not need any more dancers, and she was left crying. She was told there was a place for her a few days after. Denham didn't know her well, but she did have something he needed – a passport. Many of his dancers were Russian émigrés without passports, and the troupe had a Canadian tour coming up. Tallchief was accepted as an apprentice based on a mixture of her natural ability and her passport. She appeared in Gaîté Parisienne for the first time. One of the dancers left the troupe due to pregnancy, and Tallchief was given the dancer's position and a $40 per week salary following her departure from the Canadian tour.

Tallchief was delighted to find Nijinska had arrived in town to stage Chopin Concerto with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo on her first day as a full member of the company. Tallchief was first ballerina Nathalie Krassovska's understudy for the lead role shortly after. The Russian ballerinas fought often with American ballerinas, who were reportedly regarded as inferior at the Ballet Russe. Tallchief was unexpectedly promoted by Nijinska, becoming the primary object of their animosity.

At the same time, Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, or The Courting at Burnt Ranch, was scheduled to be a first example of balletic Americana. Tallchief's name was changed one day by de Mille one day. Tallchief's first name was a controversial one; Denham had suggested that Tallchief renamed her surname to Tallchieva, a Russian-sounding word used by ballet dancers at the time; this was a controversial issue for ballet dancers at the time. "Allchief was my name, and I was proud of it," she said. De Mille had a more palatable plan, opting for a redesigned version of her middle name. Tallchief accepted and was known as Maria Tallchief for the remainder of her career.

Tallchief appeared in seven ballets as part of the corps de ballet in her first two months at Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. While in New York, she took classes at the School of American Ballet, but there were no formal classes on tour. Rather, Tallchief investigated the careers of her more senior coworkers. Alexandra Danilova, in particular, was admired for her work ethic and professionalism. Tallchief began exercising whenever she could, establishing a reputation as a hard worker. "I was always doing a barre," she wrote, "always giving it my best in rehearsals."

Krassovska fought with management on a daily basis, increasing the possibility of a sudden promotion for Tallchief. Tallchief was told she would continue working in her role after she nearly departed the company in 1942. Krassovska was reluctant to return, but the event made it clear to Tallchief that she would be able to do Krassovska's physically demanding role on short notice, something for which she was not yet qualified. Krassovska argued with Denham and left the company in the spring of 1943. Tallchief recalled, "I was unprepared, I was numb with terror." Tallchief received rave reviews when the company returned to New York. "Allchief gave a stunning account of herself in Nijinkska's Chopin Concerto, rather than bravura," and she forecast she'd be a major celebrity in the near future. Tallchief returned to the corpse when the staging of Chopin Concerto was complete, but Glory was short lived.

Tallchief's parents were in Los Angeles when she was back on tour. Tallchief's frail appearance – she had shed a lot of weight due to poor diet and exhaustion – as well as her minor role in The Snow Maiden – her mother tried to convince Tallchief to abandon ballet and return to piano following her return to piano. Ruth Tallchief changed her mind when Lichine told her Martin's column that he was America's top dance critic. Tallchief's second year with Ballet Russe gave him more prominence. She was a soloist in Le Beau Danube and took the lead in Ancient Russia, another Nijinska ballet.

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo had recruited George Balanchine in 1944 to work on a new project called Song of Norway. The change would be a turning point in Tallchief and Balanchine's careers. Right from the beginning, she was attracted to Balanchine. "When I saw what he had done, I was astonished," she recalled of one of her first encounters with him. Everything seemed so simple yet flawless: "A sophisticated ballet fell into place before my eyes." She was not positive if he was paying attention to her at first, but she soon discovered he was. Tallchief was sent as a solo in Song of Norway, but she would also be Danilova's understudy as a result of the premiere. Balanchine was given a deal for the remainder of the season, and it was a success. After years on Broadway and Hollywood, he was excited to return to ballet and accepted the challenge. Sensing Tallchief's star was on the rise, but her mother demanded a raise for her daughter. Tallchief had been "mortified" by the change, but Denham gave in and increased her salary to $50 a week, naming her as "soloist."

Tallchief's role as the actor in many scenes remained to be Balanchine. She appeared in Danses Concertantes as part of a jazzy pas de trois created for Mary Ellen Moylan, Nicholas Magallanes, and herself. The steps were traditional in form, but they were presented in a unique way. "The accent was sharp, the rhythm was swinging, and modern," she wrote. "Doing the steps seemed more like a plea for pleasure and enjoyment than labor." It was magical." She had a pas de deux with Yurek Lazowsky in Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.

Balanchine informed Tallchief that she would be her second lead behind Moylan just a few weeks before Ballet Imperial's debut. "I practically fainted," she recalled. "I couldn't get over it." Balanchine grew fond of her both professionally and personally as the season progressed. The Washington Post called Tallchief his "crucial artistic inspiration" and personally. Tallchief was unaware of the personal gratification for a long time, but their professional relationship remained mainly on a professional one. They became friends slowly, but Balanchine asked Tallchief to marry him one day, much to her surprise. After some reflection, she consented and the pair married on August 16, 1946.

Tallchief was doing her barre one night on tour in 1945 when Balanchine said, "If only you learn to do battement tendu properly, you wouldn't have to worry about learning anything else." It was his way of saying she had to start all over – battement tendu is the most basic ballet exercise known. "I wanted to die," she recalled. "I had noticed the difference between Mary Ellen's [who was a Balanchine] dancing and mine. I knew he was correct." Tallchief lost ten pounds and elongated her legs and neck under her tutelage of Balanchine. She learned how to raise her chest, keep her back straight, and keep her feet crossed. "My body seemed to be going through a metamorphosis," she recalled. Tallchief recalled the basic exercises that Balanchine used to help her turn her greatest weakness, turnout-in-to-a-force. Danilova devoted a considerable amount of her time to instructing Tallchief in the ballerina's art, assisting her in her transformation from a teen girl to a young adult.

Tallchief rose to the rank of "featured soloist" as Balanchine continued to cast her in leading roles. After Danilova selected the other female lead for herself, she created (was the first person to perform) the role of Coquette in Night Shadow, the ballet's most technically demanding position.

Balanchine formed the Ballet Society in 1946, a direct predecessor to the New York City Ballet. Tallchief had six months remaining on her ballet Russe de Monte Carlo contract, so she stayed with the company until 1947. When her time as a guest choreographer at the Paris Opera Ballet came to an end, she joined Balanchine. He had been ordered to "save" the famed troupe, but not everyone appreciated his presence. A group of supporters of Serge Lifar, who was on leave when charges of assisting the Nazis during World War II were investigated, spearheaded a movement to get rid of Balanchine. Spectateur and Les Arts dug in, publishing articles attacking Balanchine personally. He defiked the company's hierarchy, angering some dancers.

Tallchief was called into Le baiser de la fée and Apollo right away as she arrived. A second dancer pulled out of Apollo just before opening night, causing Tallchief to take a more challenging role on short notice. Despite all the difficulties, opening night was a huge success. Tallchief's dancing was captivated by the French press, as well as her roots. A front-page headline read: "Peau Rouge danse a l'Opera pour le Roi de Suede" [Redskin dances at the Opera for the King of Sweden]. [La Fille du grand chef Indien a l'Opera] [The daughter of the famous Indian chief dances at the Opera] reads another. Tallchief's appearance was misunderstook by her coworkers, but French audiences adored her. Tallchief and Balanchine, who spent six months in Paris, have returned to New York. Tallchief was the first American to perform with the Paris Opera Ballet during her stay in Paris.

Tallchief was immediately recognized as one of the first actors and first prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet, which opened in October 1948, as the couple returned to the United States. Balanchine "revolutionized ballet" by creating roles that called for athleticism, lightning, and aggressive dancing like never before. Tallchief was well suited for Balanchine's vision. "I always thought Balanchine was more of a musician than a choreographer, and perhaps that's why he and I clicked," Tallchief recalled. He wrote several roles for Tallchief, including the lead of "The Firebird" in 1949. "Maria Tallchief made an electrifying appearance on her debut on "Firebird" — rising as the nearest approximation to a prima ballerina that we had yet to enjoy." The role brought her to the top of the ballet world, granting her the prima ballerina title. Tallchief was expected to do everything but spin on her head, according to New York Times columnist John Martin, who articulated the role's significant technological difficulty, and she does it with utter and incomparable brilliance.

Tallchief's fame helped the fledgeling dance company thrive, and she was invited to appear as many as eight times a week. Tallchief was given the role of Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine's newly reworked version of The Nutcracker, which was then an obscure ballet. Her job turned the job into an annual Christmas tradition, as well as the industry's most popular box-office draw. Walter Terry, a critic, said, "Maria Tallchief, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, is a woman of mystery, dancing the apparent impossible with utter elegance of movement, enchanting us with her radiance of being." Is she equal within or outside fairyland? One is tempted to question it after seeing her in The Nutcracker."

Tallchief's other notable roles under Balanchine include the Swan King in Balanchine's version of Swan Lake and Eurydice in Orpheus. Balanchine was the country's most influential and influential choreographer, with "Prodigal Son," "A La Francaix," "Allegro Brillante," "Allegro Brillante," "Allegro Brillante," "Allegro Brillante," "Pas de Dix," and "Sylvia Pas de Deux" and "Sylvia Pas de Deux" as her lead role.

Tallchief continued with the New York City Ballet until February 1960, but he took time off to work with other companies. Among other things, she appeared with the Chicago Opera Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, and the Hamburg Ballet. She was reportedly paid $2,000 a week by Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the highest salary paid to a dancer at the time. She took the lead in Gounod Symphony in Baanchine in 1958 before taking a leave of absence to have her first child.

Tallchief joined American Ballet Theatre, first as a guest dancer and later as prima ballerina after leaving the New York City Ballet. She appeared alongside Danish journalist Erik Bruhn in Russia, where she was praised for "aplomb, brilliance, and the American style's dignity." She became Moscow's first American dancer to perform at the famed Bolshoi Theater in so doing. Tallchief expanded her repertoire from 1960 to 1962, as opposed to abstract, role such as Birgit Cullberg's Miss Julie and Lady from the Sea's title roles, as well as Antony Tudor's melancholy heroine.

Tallchief's dancing was not limited to the stage. She appeared on various television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Pavlova appeared in the 1952 film comedy The Million Dollar Mermaid was her first appearance in the national film Anna Pavlova. Tallchief was Rudolf Nureyev's partner of choice for his American debut, which was broadcast on national television in 1962. In 1966, she appeared on television's "Bell Telephone Hour" in America.

Balanchine (to whom she was no longer married) moved to Germany, where she briefly became Germany's lead dancer. One of her last appearances was a 1966 title role in Peter van Dyk's Cinderella, but she stopped attending performances because she was too old to dance. She danced around Europe, South America, Japan, and Russia during her career. She appeared in several symphony orchestras as a guest.

Tallchief quit dancing and moved to Chicago, where husband Buzz Paschen lived. She appeared as ballet director for the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1973 to 1979. She founded Lyric Opera's ballet school in 1974, where she taught Balanchine techniques. "New ideas are vital, but we must keep respect for ballet, but the artist must remain revered," she said, "or else it is no longer an art form."

Tallchief and her sister Marjorie founded the Chicago City Ballet in 1981. She served as a co-artistic director until its demise in 1987. Despite the company's demise, the Chicago Tribune praised her as "a force in Chicago dance" and that she has unquestionably raised the profile of dance in the city.

In 1989, Tallchief appeared in the documentary film Dancing for Mr. B. She served as an artistic advisor to Von Heidecke's Chicago Festival Ballet from 1990 to her death.

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