January 24, 2025, marked the centennial of Osage ballerina Maria Tallchief’s birthdate. In celebration of this milestone, we reflect on the prima ballerina’s legacy while delving into her presence in both Chicago and the Newberry’s collections, especially our holdings in American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Performing Arts.
Maria Tallchief (1925-2013) is recognized as America’s first major prima ballerina, and the first Native American dancer to break out into the mainstream of ballet. She started ballet at the age of three, and by fifteen she was dancing professionally. Tallchief performed with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo shortly after graduating from high school, and later performed as leading ballerina of New York City Ballet for nearly two decades.
There she gained prominence for a multitude of roles including those in Four Temperaments, Ballet Imperial, The Nutcracker, Sylvia Pas De Deux, and many others. Despite the over twenty-five roles she performed for the company, it is her role in Firebird that is cited as being her most technical and artistic achievement.
Another one of Tallchief’s most celebrated roles was in Orpheus as the character of Eurydice. In the Newberry’s collection, there is an art reproduction of a ledger drawing depicting Tallchief in this role. This drawing was made by artist Robert “Running Fisher” Upham (enrolled member of Lake Traverse Sioux, community member by blood from Salish, Gros Venture, Assiniboine, and Pend Oreille tribes). In the artist statement for this piece, it is noted that Upham chose to illustrate the prima ballerina “to benefit the aspirations of young American Indian girls.”
Having travelled and performed all over the world, Tallchief stunned audiences globally and built an international reputation for herself and for the dance companies she represented. One of the cities that Tallchief’s legacy in dance is most felt is Chicago, where she lived and worked for a fair amount of her life.
In 1966, Tallchief retired from performing and settled into her life in Chicago with her family. Though she stopped dancing professionally, she continued to teach ballet and act as a mentor for the next generation of dancers. Shortly after her retirement, Tallchief was approached by the Lyric Opera of Chicago to teach movement classes for singers in the company. Tallchief accepted this role and later became the ballet director for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Thus, the Lyric Opera ballet school was born.
Tallchief’s work with the Lyric Opera laid the groundwork for what would become the Chicago City Ballet. Along with this dance company, Tallchief established an affiliated school with her sister Marjorie. The Chicago City Ballet, though having a brief history, was an important independent dance organization that toured all throughout Chicago and the United States, along with a European tour in 1983. The resident ballet company dissolved in 1987, while the school continued to operate until its closing in 1993.
The Newberry holds extensive items related to Chicago dance, having collections of material related to the Chicago City Ballet and the affiliated school that Tallchief founded. In the Ann Barzel dance research collection, there are many photographs from Tallchief’s tenure as an instructor in Chicago. Additionally, we have news segments from the 1980’s that covered her work as an instructor, like this Channel 7 WLS-TV segment, and this CBS Sunday morning feature that includes historic footage of Tallchief as Firebird, along with her teaching it, that are viewable through our Digital Collections.
Material related to Tallchief has been featured in two past Newberry exhibitions, The Legacy of Chicago Dance in 2019, and Indigenous Chicago, which closed earlier this year. Both exhibits featured her autographed pointe shoes from the Chicago City Ballet Records.
Maria Tallchief’s legacy and contributions to Chicago dance are present in a variety of ways in the Newberry’s collection. Whether it be artworks dedicated to her, photographs and videos documenting her time as a dancer and instructor in the Chicago area, or artifacts from her career, there are many ways to delve into Tallchief’s powerful legacy here at the Newberry—during this centennial year and beyond.
About the Author
Nico Marabella is Administrative Coordinator for Public Engagement at the Newberry.