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Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Eves and welcome to This Day in History Class,

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Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history.

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Speaker 1: Every day. Today is January. The day was January. On

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Speaker 1: this day, Maria tal Chief was born Elizabeth Marie Tall

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Speaker 1: Chief in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on the oh Stage Nation Reservation.

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Speaker 1: The doctors used their four steps and properly and left

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Speaker 1: a red mark on her forehead. At least that's what

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Speaker 1: Maria said later. But other than that, baby Maria was

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Speaker 1: healthy and it wouldn't be long before Maria would start

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Speaker 1: taking ballet lessons and begin her path towards ballet stardom.

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Speaker 1: Maria's father, Alexander Joseph tal Chief, was a full blooded

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Speaker 1: oh Sage and a big time real estate executive. Her mother,

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Speaker 1: Ruth Tall Chief, had Irish, Scottish and debt troots. At

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Speaker 1: the time, the oh Sage were the wealthiest tribe in

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Speaker 1: the US since they had discovered oil in their land

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Speaker 1: and everyone held mineral rights. But even though they were

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Speaker 1: well off financially, life wasn't perfect. Maria's father had a

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Speaker 1: drinking problem, which often led him to argue with Maria's mother,

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Speaker 1: and the oh Sage were still subject to cultural persecution

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Speaker 1: by the federal government. In eighteen eighty four, the US

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Speaker 1: officially banned what they called pagan ceremonies and began imprisoning

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Speaker 1: and even killing American Indians who took part in tribal

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Speaker 1: religious ceremonies throughout the late eighteen hundreds. In early nineteen hundreds,

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Speaker 1: the government continued to enforce laws outlawing Native American traditions,

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Speaker 1: but Maria's grandmother, Eliza Big Heart Tall Chief, still slunck

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Speaker 1: Maria and her younger sister Marjorie into secret tribal ceremonies

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Speaker 1: when they were children. Maria was fascinated by the ordnate outfits,

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Speaker 1: dancing and songs at these pow wows, and that stuck

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Speaker 1: with her. When she was three, she went to her

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Speaker 1: first ballet lesson in the basement of the Broadmoor Hotel

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Speaker 1: in Colorado Springs, and by the time she was five,

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Speaker 1: Maria's ballet teacher already had her dancing on point, which

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Speaker 1: is actually super dangerous for such a young child whose

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Speaker 1: feet are still growing. Maria also started piano lessons when

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Speaker 1: she was young, and her mother really wanted her to

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Speaker 1: be a concert pianist, but Maria was drawn to ballet.

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Speaker 1: When Betty Marie, as her family called her, was eight

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Speaker 1: years old, the family moved to Beverly Hills, California. Ruth

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Speaker 1: had felt like the reservation lacked opportunities for the girls,

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Speaker 1: so she took them somewhere she thought they'd be able

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Speaker 1: to reach their full potential, and Maria did thrive. In California,

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Speaker 1: under the guidance of fame dancer and choreographer Ernest Belcher,

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Speaker 1: Maria and her sister learned everything from ballet to acrobatics

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Speaker 1: to tap dance. Ruth, excited to get her daughters out

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Speaker 1: on the stage, even made them do cringe worthy Native

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Speaker 1: American dances that were way too contrived to really be

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Speaker 1: called tribal. Fortunately, Maria moved on to bigger and better things.

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Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty eight, Maria and her sister began studying

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Speaker 1: under choreographer David Lashen, his prima ballerina wife Tatiana rib Alshinska,

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Speaker 1: and Brunoslava Nijinska, a notable ballet teacher and choreographer. Nijinska

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Speaker 1: was a tough teacher and pushed her students to be

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Speaker 1: dancers at all times, not just when they were practicing

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Speaker 1: or performing. Nijinska recognized Maria's talent and dedication and cass

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Speaker 1: Maria and her ballet chopin Concierto, which was performed at

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Speaker 1: the Hollywood Bowl in nineteen forty. Maria graduated from Beverly

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Speaker 1: Hills High School in nine teen forty two and hit

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Speaker 1: the ground running with her dancing career. She got a

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Speaker 1: job as an extra in the film Presenting Lily Mars,

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Speaker 1: which start performance big shot Judy Garland, and soon after

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Speaker 1: she earned a spot at Ballet Rus de Monte Carlo,

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Speaker 1: which was a major ballet company at the time. While

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Speaker 1: she was performing with Ballet Ruth, she went from Betty

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Speaker 1: Marie to Maria Talchief. She was already spelling her last

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Speaker 1: name as one word, but taking the first name Maria

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Speaker 1: helped apiece her colleagues who thought a more Russian sounding

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Speaker 1: name would make her more palatable to the masses. And

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Speaker 1: from here, Maria's ballet career is pretty much a laundry

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Speaker 1: list of accomplishments. She went from the court of ballet

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Speaker 1: to solo parts, and Russian choreographer George Bowenschen, who's been

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Speaker 1: dubbed the father of American ballet, played a major role

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Speaker 1: in Maria's glow up. That's because he really helped her

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Speaker 1: sharpen her dancing skills. You could cue the mentor student

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Speaker 1: montage here. After George joined Ballet Ruse in nineteen forty

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Speaker 1: four as a ballet master, he saw just how talented

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Speaker 1: Maria was and took her under his wing and they

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Speaker 1: went back to basics so she could build a strong foundation.

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Speaker 1: He helped her master the turnout, or when ballet dancers

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Speaker 1: rotate their legs outward so the toes point away from

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Speaker 1: each other. He trained her to become stronger. He just

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Speaker 1: really helped her embody the art of ballet. Maria even

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Speaker 1: once said that she didn't fully understand ballet until George

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Speaker 1: came around. And soon enough their professional relationship turned into

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Speaker 1: a romantic one too. Balanchine proposed to her and she

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Speaker 1: gave him a kind of unenthusiastic yes, and in nineteen

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Speaker 1: forty six they got married, when she was twenty one

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Speaker 1: and he was forty two years old. The marriage didn't

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Speaker 1: last too long, only around six years. That lack of

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Speaker 1: enthusiasm had turned to be a general mood of their

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Speaker 1: romantic relationship. But while they were together and after they

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Speaker 1: collaborated a ton. They went to France and Maria made

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Speaker 1: her debut at the Paris Opera Ballet in nineteen forty seven,

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Speaker 1: and in nineteen forty eight Maria joined Balanchine's new company,

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Speaker 1: the New York City Ballet, and was premium ballerina there

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Speaker 1: until nineteen sixty five. Maria rose to the top of

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Speaker 1: the ballet world with her starring role in The Firebird

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Speaker 1: at the New York City Ballet, her performance as a

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Speaker 1: sugar plum Ferry and a version of Tchaikowsky's The Nutcracker,

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Speaker 1: and a bunch of other roles that showcased Maria's technical

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Speaker 1: skill and passion. She toured Europe and Asia, performed with

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Speaker 1: other ballet companies, and even played Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova

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Speaker 1: in the nineteen fifty three film Million Dollar Mermaid. Maria

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Speaker 1: was always involved in the ballet world in some way,

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Speaker 1: even after she retired from dancing and settled down with

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Speaker 1: her husband, Henry and their daughter, Alice Maria in Chicago.

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Speaker 1: She went on to become the director of Ballet at

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Speaker 1: the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also found at the

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Speaker 1: Chicago City Ballet and served as his artistic director from

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Speaker 1: nineteen one until it's shut down in nineteen seven. By

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Speaker 1: the time Maria tal Chief died in she had left

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Speaker 1: a huge impact on ballet around the world and helped

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Speaker 1: put American ballet on the world stage. A pioneering dancer

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Speaker 1: and teacher who always embraced her lineage, Maria has become

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Speaker 1: known as America's first major prima ballerina. I'm Eve Jeff

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Speaker 1: Coote and hopefully you know more about history today than

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Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you want to know more about

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Speaker 1: Maria tal Chief, you can listen to the November third

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Speaker 1: episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class called Maria

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Speaker 1: tal Chief. You can subscribe to This Day in History

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Speaker 1: Class on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, or

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Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks to the producer, Chandler

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Speaker 1: Mays for all his audio work. Tune in tomorrow for

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Speaker 1: another Day in History. H