Betty maria tallchief biography dance

Born: January 24, 1925
Fairfax, Oklahoma
Native American dancer and choreographer

Maria Tallchief is a world-renowned ballerina and one of the premiere (first-ranking) 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 the Balanchine Ballet Society, later renamed the New York City Ballet.

Early years

Maria Tallchief was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1925.

Fairfax is located on the Osage Indian Reservation. Her grandfather had helped negotiate the treaty (agreement) that established the reservation and kept the tribe's right to own any minerals found on the land. When oil was discovered on the reservation, the Osage became the wealthiest Native American tribe in the country.

Maria's father, Alexander Joseph Tall Chief, an Osage Indian, was a wealthy real estate executive.

Her mother, Ruth Mary Porter Tall Chief, was of Scottish and Irish ance