Betty maria tallchief biography

(1925-2013)

Who Was Maria Tallchief?

Maria Tallchief was the first Native American (Osage Tribe) woman to break into ballet.

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Tallchief grew up in Los Angeles, California, where she studied ballet for many years. Her career as a ballerina spanned the globe and led to a short marriage to George Balanchine.

Early Life and Career

Born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief on January 24, 1925, in Fairfax, Oklahoma, Tallchief was one of the country's leading ballerinas from the 1940s to the '60s.

The daughter of an Osage tribe member, she was also a trailblazer for Native Americans in the world of ballet.

Betty maria tallchief biography

Tallchief grew up in Los Angeles, California, where she studied ballet for years, working with Ernest Belcher and Bronislava Nijinska.

During her early career, in the 1940s, Tallchief danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

It was also around this time that she became known professionally as Maria Tallchief, combining the two parts of her Indian name. In 1947, she be