Maria Tallchief Research Paper

McKenzie Vincent

NBE3C

Mrs.Kearns

November 3 2017

Maria Tallchief:

America’s First Prima Ballerina

Dance is one of the best ways to express oneself without language. Out of all the dances, ballet is the most graceful dance there is, as well as the most difficult. It is an honour to become a prima ballerina in a dance company because it is one of the most difficult positions to get to. Maria Tallchief managed to become a prima ballerina despite a lot of hard times and her wanting to give up. Maria Tallchief was a successful Indigenous ballerina because she was influenced by Madame Nijinska, she learned to dance from Osage dancers and she broke many barriers.

One of the many reasons Tallchief was so influential was because she was taught by Nijiska, one of the best Russian ballerinas of the time. Having such a remarkable teacher gave Tallchief great support, gave her hope and the best skills she needed. It was not just Tallchief’s teacher who made her successful though; her own talent and hard work were important factors too. All of this allowed her to become the first Native American woman to gain the rank of Prima Ballerina in the New York City Ballet. Her achievement was important because she was then able to inspire other Native American ballerinas. She was important because she was the first Prima Ballerina in New York City which brought this

She wanted to be one of the best dancers there was. When she was eight years old, she started taking ballet dancing lessons because her dad told her she can only pick one. It was either ballet or playing piano. She picked ballet because she really enjoyed doing ballet and wanted to become a ballerina. For Tallchief to become one, her dad was a really big influence on her because he gave her hope as well as her teacher of ballet and they wanted her to do the best she