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Do you like ballet?
I don’t know anything about ballet. I have seen only a couple of live ballets, and I have to admit that it wasn’t my favorite thing to watch. But I must also confess that the fault is entirely my own. Ballet questionably requires dedication, athleticism, and artistry and is a beautiful classic art form. My own ignorance prevents me from fully appreciating it. As the poet Marianne Moore said:
We do not admire what we cannot understand.
But what I can admire is a person who breaks down barriers and glass ceilings, so what I really want to talk about is people, not ballet.
marjorie tallchief
Today is the 90th birthday of Marjorie Tallchief. I must admit that I had never heard of her before I began scouring Google for a topic for today. But I stumbled onto a fascinating story. Marjorie Tallchief is the last living member of a group of five Native American women who changed ballet in the 20th century. More about that below, but first some info on Marjorie.
Biography
Marjorie Tallchief was not born in Fairfax, OK, as is reported on some web sites. She was actually born in Denver, CO, while her family was on vacation, but she was raised in Fairfax on the Osage Reservation, which was the family’s official residence on October 19, 1926. Her father, Alexander Joseph Tall Chief, was a wealthy man. His grandfather, Peter Bigheart, had helped the Osage Nation negotiate profitable deals ahead of the Oklahoma Oil Boom of the 1920’s and 30’s. Alexander owned property in Fairfax, and in the 20’s he built the movie theater and a 10-room “mansion,” both of which he designed. (You can see a video on the mansion here and see pictures of the movie house and more here.) After his first wife died, Alexander married a woman of Scottish-Irish heritage named Ruth Porter, and they had three kids: Gerald, Maria, and Marjorie, the youngest. In 1933, the family moved to California so the two sisters could learn ballet from highly-acclaimed teachers.
Maria, who was the first major American prima ballerina as well as the first major American Indian prima ballerina, became the more famous of the two, but both sisters had exceptional careers. Wiki says of Marjorie’s professional life:
After completing her training in Los Angeles, Marjorie began performing for several dance companies. In the book, American Indian Ballerinas, Lili Cockerille Livingston wrote that Marjorie Tallchief had her professional debut with Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant's Ballet Theatre as a first year soloist, in 1944. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, these included: "... the American Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1946-47), the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas (1948-55), Ruth Page's Chicago Opera Ballet (guest artist, 1958-62), and the Harkness Ballet (prima ballerina, 1964-66). Her most acclaimed roles were performed in Night Shadow (1950), Annabel Lee (1951), Idylle (1954), Romeo and Juliet (1955), and Giselle (1957)."
She was the first Native American to be "première danseuse étoile" [first dancer] of the Paris Opera Ballet and performed with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. During her career she also performed for politicians such as U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and foreign dignitaries such as Charles de Gaulle. After her retirement from the stage, she acted as a dance director for the Dallas Ballet, the Chicago Ballet School and the Harid Conservatory until 1993.
She was married to choreographer and director George Skibine (deceased) and has two children. This remarkable woman has been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and was named an “Oklahoma Treasure” in 1997. She lives in Boca Raton, FL.
five moons
Now, about those five American Indian women who changed ballet:
Five dancers who started their careers in the 1940s redefined dance in the United States, becoming some of the first American prima ballerinas in the world’s top companies, from the Ballets Russes to the Paris Opera Ballet. And they were all American Indians from Oklahoma.
Yvonne Chouteau [Shawnee] one of the “Five Moons,” as they were anointed, died this past Sunday [January 24, 2016] at the age of 86. Along with Moscelyne Larkin (Shawnee, 1925–2012), Rosella Hightower (Choctaw, 1920–2008), Marjorie Tallchief (Osage, b. 1926), and, most famously, Maria Tallchief (Osage, 1925–2013), she rose in the ranks of dance when ballet was still not widely appreciated in this country. The women had distinct careers, but they all danced when they were young at powows and caught performances by the traveling Ballets Russes and other companies, propelling them to study professionally.
(snip)
The five never performed together, although all of them but Maria Tallchief, who by then had retired, took part in Louis Ballard’s 1967 The Four Moons at the Second Oklahoma Indian Ballerina Festival. The piece merged movement from ballet with the dancers’ heritage and featured Hightower’s fluid, Choctaw-inspired solo; Larkin’s Shawnee-influenced dance with quick, compacting movement; Marjorie Tallchief’s gestural performance, which evolved from Osage dance; and Chouteau’s somber choreography, developed from the Cherokee and Shawnee dances of her youth.
Nora Boustany wrote in Hightower’s Los Angeles Times obituary that the women’s “remarkable accomplishments showcased American dance and talent to the world when Russian stars still dominated that scene.”
(Emphasis added)
I know our friend remembrance loves ballet. But how about you? Do you like ballet? Did you know about the Tallchief sisters and the rest of the “Five Moons”?
As always, this is an Open Thread!
LET'S BUILD IN-REAL-LIFE COMMUNITIES!
Our team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events. We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in. If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
The orange pinpoints are the location of each organized group of Daily Kos readers. If you'd like to join a group, click on a point and a box will pop up showing contact links. If you'd like to start a group, contact navajo for instructions.
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
Colorado: Sunday Mornings
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern
Washington: Sundays, 3:30 PM Pacific
Missouri: Wednesday Evenings
Kansas: Monday Evenings
We appreciate everyone’s work on the ground locally while the general is ramping up. Please let us know in the comments what you’re working on. For example, GOTV, down-ballot campaign volunteering, blogging about our races, etc.
All hands on deck.
Let us know if you’ve got any events that would be of interest to other readers of Daily Kos IN-YOUR-REAL-LIFE space.
ATTN: New England Readers of Daily Kos!
It's that time of year again- the crispness of fall is in the air and we are due for a meet-up. The date is October 22nd and we will be meeting in Kittery, ME at the Farm Bar And Grill (the same site where we did our Midwinter Meetup in January). farmbargrille.com/...
The site was chosen to give our southern NE friends a venue that was a little closer to home. We will start at noon and probably go until about 2-3PM.
What: A Daily Kos meet up for DK members and interested parties before the Moral Mountain Monday rally in downtown Asheville.
When: Monday, October 24th — 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Where: Asheville
Why: Connecting face to face, sharing information, getting inspired and adding to the crowd that is there to support Reverend Barber the week early voting starts.
Food: White Duck Taco
The Downtown Duck is adjacent to Pack Square and easily walkable from any hotel or parking garage. The Biltmore Ave Parking garage is next door. There is a pet friendly courtyard seating 50 in the back of the restaurant.
12 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 232-9191
Fun: Yes Family: Yes
Attendees:
randallt, Joieau, davehouck, Lamont Cranston, SteelerGrrl, SteelerGuy, Gordon20024, Otteray Scribe, Burns Lass
Maybees: TexDem
Click here to add your name
Read more details here.
SFKossacks Holiday Party!
Saturday, November 19th, 1:00 PM, Wine Country in the town Windsor. Private residence address will be given to the folk who RSVP.
Please send navajo a kosmail to RSVP and state your potluck item. We need non-alcoholic beverages, appetizers, side dishes, (plus vegetarian versions) salads, and bread. Ice and large ice chests, too!
Also tell navajo if you need to carpool. AND! Dogs okay. FTW! No livestock, though.
RSVP & POTLUCK LIST:
1. Andrew McQuire—Host
2. navajo—Whole salmon for bbq for whole crowd
3. MrNavajo—8 six-packs of beer
4. side pocket—
5. Mrs. side pocket
6. smileycreek—Mini jalapeno polenta cups
7. paradise50—
8. Glen The Plumber—
9. remembrance—
10. TLO
11. jotter—One case of wine
12. aha aha
13. dsb—Ice in an ice chest, baguettes & cheese
14. marge—Curried potatoes and roasted vegetables
15. kimoconnor—
16. maggiejean—Salad
17. elfling—
18. Hunter
19. elfling/Hunter offspring, not livestock
20. Lorikeet—side dish
21. norm
22. jck—side dish
23. Lusty—Vegetable side dish
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Maybees: Silky and Dixie
citisven
Deb
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NEW GROUPS FORMING:
Peregrine Kate organized canvassing for her local candidate, Paul Clements. Details about the event are here: Canvassing for Clements in MI-06! WE Are Making a Difference. YOU Can Help! Great job, Kate!
Seattle & Puget Sound Kos got together Sunday, August 14th to catch up. Even though some were hard-core Berners, they’re all voting for Clinton. Unity. Thanks to bleeding blue for organizing this meet-up!
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries about your event or if you have changes or additions.