Maria Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina has died at age 88

Maria Tallchief, the daughter of an Osage Indian father, and who lived on-reservation in Oklahoma until the oil rich family moved to New York, has died at age 88. Tallchief achieved renown with the New York City Ballet under choreographer George Balanchine. Described by the New York Times “as one of the most brilliant American ballerinas of the 20th century, she achieved acclaim in the title role of Stravinsky’s “Firebird” dazzling audiences with “her speed, energy and fire.” For more information about the dancer, look to her autobiography entitled “Maria Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina.”