Marjorie Louise Tallchief (born 1927 in Denver, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

) was a ballerina

Ballerina

A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

 of the Osage Nation

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,...

.

Career

Tallchief was the first American Indian to be "première danseuse étoile" of the Paris Opera Ballet

Paris Opera Ballet

The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...

 and performed with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. During her career she also performed for politicians such as John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

, and Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

. After her retirement from the stage, she acted as a dance director for the Dallas Ballet, the Chicago Ballet School 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...

 until 1993.

Accolades

In 1991 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. In October 1997, Tallchief and her sister Maria

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:...

, along with 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...

, Rosella Hightower

Rosella Hightower

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

, and 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...

, were named Oklahoma Treasures at the Governor's Arts Awards.

Personal life

She has two children with her husband, director and choreographer

Choreography

Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

 George Skibine

George Skibine

George Skibine , was a ballet dancer with the Ballets Russes from age 5, son of Boris Skibine, also of the Ballets Russes, choreographer and balletmaster of the Harkness and Dallas Ballets.- Obituaries :* , January 16th, 1981...

, and currently lives in 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...

.