Maria Tallchief

Posted by Reid Cornwell on Jul 13, 2020 in Women In the Arts

The first Native American to become a prima ballerina.

Born in 1925, Tallchief grew up on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma. As noted in a NY Times tribute to her, "Growing up at a time when many American dancers adopted Russian stage names, Ms. Tallchief, proud of her Indian heritage, refused to do so, even though friends told her that it would be easy to transform Tallchief into Tallchieva."

Tallchief kept her name and made her mark throughout the dance world, dancing with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo from 1942 to 1947 and the New York City Ballet from its founding in 1947 through 1965. She is pictured here in the title role of George Balanchine's ballet "Firebird." This dance legend passed away in 2013 at the age of 88.

To introduce this pioneering dancer to children, we highly recommend "Who Is Maria Tallchief" for ages 8 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-maria-tallchief) and "Tallchief: American's Prima Ballerina" for ages 4 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/tallchief-america-s-prima-balle…)

She is also among the women featured in "This Little Trailblazer" for ages 1 to 4 (https://www.amightygirl.com/this-little-trailblazer) and "She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World," for ages 5 to 9 (https://www.amightygirl.com/she-persisted)

To discover our favorite fictional picture books about Mighty Girl dancers, visit our blog post, "Dancing Her Heart Out: 20 Picture Books About Mighty Girls Who Love to Dance," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12378

And, for more books about Native American and Indigenous girls and women to share during November's Native American Heritage Month, check out our blog post, "A Celebration of Native American and Indigenous Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=10365

A Mighty Girl
July 11 at 6:31 PM

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