Five Moons
Encyclopedia
The Five Moons are five Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 ballerinas from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 who achieved international prominence during the 20th century. They are Yvonne Chouteau
Yvonne Chouteau
Myra Yvonne Chouteau is one of the "Five Moons" or Native prima ballerinas of Oklahoma. In 1962 she and her husband founded the first fully accredited university dance program in the United States, at the University of Oklahoma. A member of the Shawnee Tribe, she is also of ethnic French...

, Rosella Hightower
Rosella Hightower
Rosella Hightower was an American ballerina who achieved fame in both the United States and Europe.-Biography:...

, Moscelyne Larkin
Moscelyne Larkin
Moscelyne Larkin is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the...

, and sisters Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...

 and Marjorie Tallchief
Marjorie Tallchief
Marjorie Louise Tallchief was a ballerina of the Osage Nation.-Career:Tallchief was the first American Indian to be "première danseuse étoile" 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 John F....

. Five Moons (2007) is the name of a bronze sculpture installation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that portrays the five ballerinas.

The Ballerinas

Yvonne Chouteau
Yvonne Chouteau
Myra Yvonne Chouteau is one of the "Five Moons" or Native prima ballerinas of Oklahoma. In 1962 she and her husband founded the first fully accredited university dance program in the United States, at the University of Oklahoma. A member of the Shawnee Tribe, she is also of ethnic French...

 (born 1929), grew up in Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita is a city in south-central Craig County, Oklahoma. As of 2009, the population estimate was 6,057. It is the county seat of Craig County.-Geography:...

 and is a member of the Shawnee Tribe
Shawnee Tribe
The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma.-History:Sometimes known as the "Loyal Shawnee," the Shawnee Tribe is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are an Eastern Woodland tribe. They originally came from Ohio and were the last of the Shawnee...

. At age 14, she became the youngest dancer to be accepted by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...

. She and her husband Miguel Terekhov founded the Oklahoma City Civic Ballet, now known as Oklahoma City Ballet
Oklahoma City Ballet
The Oklahoma City Ballet is a professional dance company and school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Ballet’s earliest beginnings were in 1963 as the Oklahoma City Civic Ballet. Located in the Science and Arts Foundation building on the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds, it was...

.

Rosella Hightower
Rosella Hightower
Rosella Hightower was an American ballerina who achieved fame in both the United States and Europe.-Biography:...

 (1920-2008), a Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...

, was born in Durwood, Oklahoma. She studied ballet in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...

 and New York. Hightower first danced for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and several other companies. She founded the Center for Classical Dance in Cannes, France and was the director of the Marseilles Opera Ballet, the Ballet de Nancy, and the Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris. In 1975, she garnered France's premier honor, the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.

Moscelyne Larkin
Moscelyne Larkin
Moscelyne Larkin is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the...

 (born 1925) was born in Miami, Oklahoma
Miami, Oklahoma
Miami is a city in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. As of 2009, the population estimate was 12,910. It is the county seat of Ottawa County. The city is named after the Miami tribe...

. She is of Peoria
Peoria (tribe)
The Peoria people are a Native American tribe. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Historically, they were part of the Illinois Confederation.-History:...

, Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

, and Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 heritage. Her mother personally trained her in ballet until she moved to New York to continue her studies. Larkin joined the Original Ballet Russe
Original Ballet Russe
The Original Ballet Russe was a ballet company established in 1932 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes. The company assumed the new name Original Ballet Russe after a split between de Basil and Blum...

 at age 15, and later danced for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 with her husband Roman Jansinsky, where they founded the Tulsa Ballet Theatre
Tulsa Ballet
Tulsa Ballet is a professional American Ballet company located in Tulsa, OK. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary...

.

Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...

 (born 1925) is Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...

 and was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma
Fairfax, Oklahoma
Fairfax is a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census, down 11.3 percent from 1,555 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 to give her and her sister the best ballet training. She joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...

 and later the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...

. She married its director and choreographer George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...

, who created ballets for her.

Marjorie Tallchief
Marjorie Tallchief
Marjorie Louise Tallchief was a ballerina of the Osage Nation.-Career:Tallchief was the first American Indian to be "première danseuse étoile" 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 John F....

 (born 1926) is Maria's sister and also Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...

. She grew up in Fairfax, Oklahoma
Fairfax, Oklahoma
Fairfax is a town in Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,380 at the 2010 census, down 11.3 percent from 1,555 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. She became the first Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 premiere danseuse étoile in the Paris Opéra. Tallchief danced in a number of ballet companies and was director of dance at the Civic Ballet Academy of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

; the City Ballet of Chicago; and the Harid Conservatory
Harid Conservatory
The Harid Conservatory is a ballet training school for high-school age students. It was established in 1987 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. It offers four-year curriculum includes ballet and related dance courses. Academic studies occur at the Spanish River Community High School, also...

 of Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...

.

Artistic tributes

The ballerinas inspired other forms of art. A ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 entitled The Four Moons was created for the Oklahoma Indian Ballerina Festival in 1967. The ballet, set to music by the Oklahoma native Louis Ballard, a Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...

-Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 composer, consists of four solos that evoke each dancer’s tribal heritage. The Osage solo is dedicated to both Tallchief sisters, thus explaining The Four Moons title, as opposed to five.

Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...

 artist Mike Larsen painted a mural depicting the Five Moons, entitled Flight of Spirit. The mural hangs in the Oklahoma State Capitol
Oklahoma State Capitol
The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature, and the meeting place of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City. The present structure includes a dome that was...

 Rotunda in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

. One of the last paintings by Muscogee Creek artist Jerome Tiger
Jerome Tiger
Jerome Richard Tiger was a highly influential Native American painter from Oklahoma. Tiger produced hundreds of paintings from 1962 until his death in 1967....

 was The Four Moons, used for the cover of Louis Ballard's ballet program. The 1967 tempera and casein painting features Chouteau, Hightower, Larkin, and Marjorie Tallchief in a range of dynamic dance positions with four stylized moons, on a solid blue field.

Lili Cockerille Livingston wrote a biography of the women, entitled American Indian Ballerinas,. She excluded Moscelyne Larkin Jasinski from the book at her request.

Sculpture

The Five Moons sculpture was unveiled at the Tulsa Historical Society in November 2007. The sculptures present each of the women in a costume and pose representative of one of their signature roles. The project was begun in 1995 by artist Monte England. England, inspired by Mike Larsen's mural, desired to create a tribute in bronze to the ballerinas in his hometown of Tulsa. Sponsorship of the project was provided by Tulsa Historical Society and the Tulsa Ballet
Tulsa Ballet
Tulsa Ballet is a professional American Ballet company located in Tulsa, OK. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and enduring quality, and educate through exemplary...

, whose representative monitored the project to help England ensure that details such as hand position and dress were accurate. In 2005, however, England died, having completed only two of the full-sized sculptures. England's long-time friend and fellow sculptor Gary Henson was asked to complete the project. Henson was provided license by the Ballet and Historical Society to complete the remaining sculptures in his own style, which differed slightly from that of England.
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