On January 24, 1925, America's first major ballet dancer was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma. The daughter of Alexander Joseph Thor Hirsch and Ruth, she is of Ossage and Scottish Irish descent, Ossage's name is Vax Tombar, meaning "Woman of Two Worlds" And since her grandfather Peter Bighart had represented the Ossage nation in oil reserve negotiations, her father owned the local cinema and swimming pool during his affluent upbringing.
Tallchief attended ballet classes at the age of three in Springs, Colorado, where her family spent the summer. In 1930, Mrs. Sabine, a ballet teacher from Tulsa, came to Fairfax and began mentoring Tarcheni and her sister Marjorie. In 1933, her family moved to Los Angeles to try to get the girls into the Hollywood Musical Theater. Once there, her mother asked the clerk of a pharmacy about the dance teacher, and on this advice, Taršić began to learn dance under the guidance of Ernest Belcher, who began to correct her techniques so that she would not be injured. There, she also learned tap dancing, Spanish dance and acrobatics.
Eventually, in pursuit of better schooling, her family moved to Beverly Hills. She went on to study piano, which she had learned very early on, and throughout high school she appeared in the Small Symphony Orchestra as a soloist. It wasn't until Talchey began dancing under Bronysrava Niginska at the age of 12 that she began to focus on ballet.
When Talcheyle was 15, Niginska performed three ballets in the Hollywood Bowl, but Talcheyle was disappointed with her role in the ballet, which made her work harder.
The beginning of a career
Although she wanted to go to college after high school, her father didn't support her and told her it was time to get a job, and she did the same. She played a small role in Lily Mars, but she didn't find the dance in the film satisfying, so in 1942 she traveled to New York. Once there, she began working with Sergey Denham and ballet company Russell de Monte Carlo; she became an apprentice while traveling in Canada. After the tour, she was assigned a place for a pregnant woman. Then, when Nijinska came to New York, she arranged substitute actors for the protagonists in Chopin's Concerto.
Early in her career, Danham suggested that she change her name to Tarkieva to make it sound more Russian," but she refused. Later, while she was preparing for Agnes de Miller's courtship competition at Bourne Ranch, de Miller also proposed a name change, which Tarchey agreed to: changing her middle name as her first name. Thus, Elizabeth Marie Thor became the chief of Maria Thor. In her second year with the ballet, she was given a more important role. In the spring of 1944, George Balanchine joined the ballet Russe to choreograph the Norwegian Song. Balanchine allowed her to perform solo in ballet and assigned her to a substitute role for Denilova. Tallchief was subsequently promoted to "soloist" and received a raise that brought his weekly salary to $50. Thanks to the success of Song of Norway, Balanchin signed a contract for the rest of the season, and he continued to play important roles.
Balanchin changed her
Over time, Balanchine and Tarchey became friends, and on a 1945 tour, Balanchin advised her to learn how to properly perform Bartontonton, one of the most basic ballet moves; this led to a shift in which she straightened her chest, straightened her waist, arched her feet, and turned her weakness into strength. She continued to play important roles, becoming the first to play a sensational role in Shadow of the Night, one of the most technically challenging roles in this ballet.
Then, on August 16, 1946, Tarchey and Balanchin married. After ending her contract with the ballet Russe, she joined The Balanchine in France, a guest choreographer for the Paris Opera ballet. There, she became the first American to perform with the Paris Opera Ballet. The couple spent six months in Paris, and upon returning to the United States, she became the first principal ballet dancer of the New York City Ballet, which opened in 1948.
Her performance in The Nutcracker makes it a Christmas classic
In 1949, Balanchine created the protagonist of Firebird specifically for Talhipp. John Martin, a reviewer for The New York Times, wrote that Tallchief had to "do everything except spins on her head, and she did it with unparalleled talent." In 1954, she played the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine's adaptation of The Nutcracker, where her performance helped make an obscure ballet a Christmas classic. Critic Walter Terry commented that she danced with the beauty of effortless movements, inspired us with her talents, and captivated us with the light of her presence. By 1955, she was the world's highest-paid ballet dancer.
She continued to dance with the New York City Ballet until 1960, when her appearance helped Balanchine become the most influential choreographer of the time, but she collaborated with other dance companies.
Her later career
After leaving the New York City Ballet, she joined the American Ballet Theatre, eventually becoming principal ballet dancer and becoming the first American ballet dancer to perform at the Bolshoi Theatre. She also appeared on several television shows and played Anna Pavlova in The Million Dollar Mermaid (1952). She also appeared on state television when Rudolf Nureyev chose her as his American debut dance partner. She then moved to Germany, where she became the leader of the Hamburg Ballet and soon retired.
She then moved to Chicago, where her third husband, Buzz Pasin, lived and began working as a ballet director at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1973. There she founded the Ballet School of the Lyric Opera House. In 1981, she co-founded the Chicago City Ballet with her sister Marjorie, and she herself became a well-respected ballet dancer. She was the Co-Artistic Director until the company's collapse in 1987.
Her charm endures
She was the first American principal ballerina, and as a dancer, she wanted to be appreciated first, and her individualism and talent worked together to create one of the most important and beautiful chapters in the history of American dance. ”
She fractured her hip in December 2012 and died of complications on 11 April 2013.