page_title: Maria Tallchief
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Maria Tallchief / Career / Early career
caption_attribution_description: English: Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nicholas Magallanes as her cavalier in the New York City Ballet's 1954 production of The Nutcracker.
context_page_description: Elizabeth Marie "Betty" Tallchief was an American ballerina. She was considered America's first major prima ballerina. She was the first Native American to hold the rank, and is said to have revolutionized ballet.
  Almost from birth, Tallchief was involved in dance, starting formal lessons at age three. When she was eight, her family relocated from her birth home of Fairfax, Oklahoma, to Los Angeles, California, to advance the careers of her and her younger sister, Marjorie.
  At age 17, she moved to New York City in search of a spot with a major ballet company, and, at the urging of her superiors, took the name Maria Tallchief. She spent the next five years with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she met legendary choreographer George Balanchine. When Balanchine co-founded what would become the New York City Ballet in 1946, Tallchief became the company's first star.
  The combination of Balanchine's difficult choreography and Tallchief's passionate dancing revolutionized the ballet. Her 1949 role in The Firebird catapulted Tallchief to the top of the ballet world, establishing her as a prima ballerina.
context_section_description: Tallchief graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1942. She had given up piano and wanted to go to college, but her father was against it. "I've paid for your lessons all your life," he said. "Now it's time for you to find a job."  She won a bit part in Presenting Lily Mars, an MGM musical with Judy Garland. Dancing in the movie was "not gratifying" and Tallchief decided against making a career of it. That summer, family friend Tatiana Riabouchinska asked if Tallchief would like to go to New York. With Riabouchinska chaperoning, she set off for the big city at age 17.
  Once in New York, Tallchief looked up Serge Denham. A secretary told her that the company did not need any more dancers and she left crying. A few days later, she was told there was a place for her after all. Denham did not actually remember her, but she had something he needed – a passport. Many of his dancers were Russian émigrés who lacked passports and the troupe had a Canadian tour coming up. Based on a combination of her talent and her passport, Tallchief was taken on as an apprentice. Her first performance was in Gaîté Parisienne. After the Canadian tour, one of the dancers left the troupe due to pregnancy and Tallchief was offered the woman's place and a $40 per week salary.
  On her first day as a full member of the company, Tallchief was surprised to find Nijinska had come to town to stage Chopin Concerto with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She soon cast Tallchief as first ballerina Nathalie Krassovska's understudy for the lead role. At the Ballet Russe, the Russian ballerinas frequently feuded with American ballerinas, whom they reportedly viewed as inferior. When Tallchief was surprisingly promoted by Nijinska, she became the primary target of their animosity.
  At the same time, the company was preparing to stage Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, or The Courting at Burnt Ranch, an early example of balletic Americana. One day, de Mille suggested that Tallchief change her name. It was a sensitive subject for Tallchief; Dunham had previously suggested Tallchief change her surname to a Russian-sounding name such as Tallchieva, a practice common among ballet dancers at the time. She refused: "Tallchief was my name, and I was proud of it."  However, de Mille had a more acceptable idea – using a modified version of her middle name. Tallchief agreed and was known as Maria Tallchief for the remainder of her career.
  Within her first two months at Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Tallchief had appeared in seven different ballets as part of the corps de ballet. While in New York, she took classes at the School of American Ballet, but on tour there were no official classes.  Instead, Tallchief studied the efforts of her more experienced colleagues. In particular, she admired Alexandra Danilova who was known for her work ethic and professionalism. Tallchief practiced whenever she could, earning a reputation as a hard worker. "I was always doing a barre," she wrote, "always giving it my all in rehearsals."
  Krassovska feuded with management regularly, raising the possibility of a sudden promotion for Tallchief. She nearly quit the company late in 1942 and Tallchief was told she would go on in her place. Krassovska was persuaded to return, but the incident made it clear to Tallchief she needed to be ready to perform Krassovska's technically difficult role on short notice – something for which she was not yet ready. In the spring of 1943, Krassovska argued with Denham and left the company. "Unprepared, I was numb with terror," Tallchief recalled. When the company returned to New York, Tallchief received positive reviews. The New York Times dance critic John Martin wrote, "Tallchief gave a stunning account of herself in Nijinkska's Chopin Concerto ... She has an easy brilliance that smacks of authority rather than bravura," and predicted she would be a big star in the near future. Glory, however, was short lived as Tallchief returned to the corps when the staging of Chopin Concerto was complete.
  Back on tour, Tallchief saw her parents in Los Angeles. Seeing Tallchief's frail app
caption: Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Nicholas Magallanes as her cavalier The Nutcracker (1954).
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