Marjorie Tallchief dies at 95, last of Oklahoma's 'Five Moons' Native American ballerinas | State and Regional News | tulsaworld.com
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 3 years ago • 16 commentsBy: Brandy McDonnell The Oklahoman (Tulsa World)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. ( KFOR ) – Marjorie Tallchief, the first Native American “première danseuse étoile” at the Paris Opera Ballet, died Nov. 30 at her home in Delray Beach, Florida, according to an obituary posted by Osage News . She was 95.
Marjorie Louise Tall Chief was born October 19, 1926 in Denver, Colorado. Tallchief grew up on the Osage Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma.
The family eventually moved to Los Angeles, California so Marjorie and her sister, Maria, could pursue ballet training
Marjorie eventually became the first American and Native American to be “première danseuse étoile” of the Paris Opera Ballet.
Tallchief married George Skibine in 1947. Skibine was a choreographer and Tallchief’s dance partner.
They remained married until his death in 1981.
Tallchief and her family returned to the U.S. in 1965 where she went on to work in New York City, Dallas, Chicago, and Boca Raton, Florida.
In 1991, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame .
She and her sister Maria, along with Moscelyne Larkin, Rosella Hightower, and Yvonne Chouteau – known as the Five Moons – were named Oklahoma Treasures at the Governor’s Arts Awards in 1997.
Tallchief is survived by her sons, Alexander and George Skibine, and her grandchildren, Alexandre, Nathalie, Adrian, and Trevor Skibine.
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The Five Moons were regal in bearing and in spirit...
Her Sister, Maria Tallchief, was adored by my Mother. My Mother had pictures of her all around the house. I never heard about Maria's Sister, Marjorie. Maria was the only one I ever knew about. I will be sure to look her up to learn more about her as well.
Thank you for posting this seed, as sad as it is, as it will give me the chance to learn about Marjorie as well.
Hi Jbb,
If you don't mind, I would like to post more of her history here, since your link has a paywall up.
I couldn't open the link and have to guess that the quotation continued to say "including her sister, Maria Tallchief"
Go for it...
Thanks. I added it to your article.
Thanks for posting the story. The Tallchief sisters deserve more accolades than they have already received.
Thank you very much for adding the story about Marjorie Tallchief. I was never aware of any of the other Sisters, just Maria.
I have this photo of America's first Prima Ballerina, IMO it shows her beauty, grace and style.
Such grace and beauty.
Thanks for this article, JBB. The photos show the how graceful these dancers were
Bronze statues of the ''Five Moons'' in Tulsa, OK.
Here is a great link that gives some of the backgrounds to each of the ''Five Moons''....