Maria Tallchief (born 1925) is a world-renowned ballerina and one of the premiere American ballerinas of all time. She was the first American to dance at the Paris Opera and has danced with the Paris Opera Ballet, the Ballet Russe, and with the Balanchine Ballet Society (New York City Ballet).

Tallchief was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1925. She was raised in a wealthy family. Her grandfather had helped negotiate the Osage treaty, which created the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma and later yielded a bonanza in oil revenues for some Osage people. Tallchief began dance and music lessons at age four. By age eight, she and her sister had exhausted the training resources in Oklahoma, and the family moved to Beverly Hills, California. By age twelve, Tallchief was studying under Madame Nijinska (sister of the great Nijinsky) and David Lichine, a student of the renowned Russian ballerina Pavlova. At age fifteen at the Hollywood Bowl, Tallchief danced her first solo performance in a number choreographed by Nijinska. Following high school, it was apparent that ballet would be Tallchief's life. Instead of college, she joined the Ballet Russe, a highly acclaimed Russian ballet troupe. Tallchief was initially treated with skepticism - the Russian troupe was unwilling to recognize the Native American's greatness. When choreographer George Balanchine took control of the company, however, he recognized Tallchief's talent and selected her for the understudy role in The Song of Norway. Under Balanchine, Tallchief's reputation grew, and she was eventually given the title of ballerina. During this time, Tallchief married Balanchine, and when he moved to Paris, she went with him.

As with the Ballet Russe, Tallchief was initially treated with condescension in Paris. Her debut at the Paris Opera was the first ever for any American ballerina, and Tallchief's talent quickly won French audiences over. She later became the first American to dance with the Paris Opera Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. She quickly became the ranking soloist and, soon after, joined the Balanchine Ballet Society, now the New York City Ballet. At the New York City Ballet, Tallchief became recognized as one of the greatest dancers in the world. When she became the prima ballerina, she was the first American dancer to achieve this title. In 1949, Tallchief danced what was perhaps her greatest role in the Balanchine-choreographed version of the Firebird. Balanchine had choreographed the role for Tallchief, and her dazzling blend of physical control and mysticism enchanted audiences. In the late 1950s, Tallchief retired from performances and took charge of the Chicago City Ballet.

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Tallchief, Maria (b Fairfax, Okla., 24 Jan. 1925).US dancer, teacher, and ballet director. Sister of Marjorie Tallchief. The daughter of a Native American father (a member of the Osage tribe) and a Scottish-Irish mother. Early on, the family moved to Los Angeles where she studied with Earnest Belcher and, most significantly, with Bronislava Nijinska. Later she studied at the School of American Ballet in New York. She danced with Serge Denham's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1942-7), where she became a soloist and danced Gaîté parisienne and Scheherazade and created roles in Balanchine's Danses concertantes (1944), Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1944), and Night Shadow (1946). From 1946 to 1951 she was married to Balanchine, joining him as a guest at the Paris Opera Ballet in the summer of 1947, dancing in his Serenade, Apollon musagète, and Baiser de la fée. Later in 1947 she joined Ballet Society in New York and went on to become the leading ballerina of New York City Ballet for almost twenty years, as well as Balanchine's muse. He created more than 25 roles for her. She was the first truly virtuosic American ballerina, and one of the first to achieve widespread popularity. Her performance in the title role of Balanchine's Firebird made an enormous impression on the dance-going public; the work, with its pyrotechnics and dramatic attack, became her signature piece. She performed in nearly all of Balanchine's ballets, and created leading roles in his Symphonie concertante (1947), Symphony in C (new staging, 1948), Orpheus (1948), Firebird (1949), Bourée fantasque (1949), Sylvia Pas de deux (1950), Jones Beach (1950), Swan Lake (Odette, 1951 one-act staging), Caracole (1952), Scotch Symphony (1952), Nutcracker (1954), Pas de dix (1955), Allegro brillante (1956), and Gounod Symphony (1958). She also created leading roles in Robbins's The Guests (1949) and Bolender's The Filly (1953). She also appeared as a guest with American Ballet Theatre (1949, 1960-2), where she danced the Tudor and Cullberg repertoire, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1955), and the Hamburg Ballet (1965), where she created the title role in van Dyk's Cinderella. At one time, when she danced with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in the 1950s, she was reported to be the highest paid ballerina in the world. She left New York City Ballet in 1966. She was artistic director of the Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet from 1975, and in 1981 she founded Chicago City Ballet, where she remained as artistic director until 1987, when the company folded. She also appeared in films, including the 1952 Hollywood movie The Million Dollar Mermaid. She is currently associated with the George Balanchine Foundation. Her autobiography, Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina, was published in 1997.

1925–, American ballerina, b. Fairfax, Okla. Tallchief, of Osage descent, was trained both as a pianist and as a dancer. Deciding on a career in ballet, she studied under Bronislava Nijinska, Ernest Belcher, and George Balanchine, whom she later married. She performed with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1942 to 1947, when she joined the Ballet Society (later the New York City Ballet). Through 18 years as that company's prima ballerina and through her tours and television appearances with the American Ballet Theatre and other companies in the 1960s, Tallchief contributed greatly to the fame and prestige of American ballet.

Bibliography

See her autobiography (1997).

Her younger sister, Marjorie Tallchief, 1927–, b. Denver Colo., was première danseuse with the Paris Opéra Ballet from 1957 to 1962. She also performed with many other companies, retiring in 1966.

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