American ballerina
Of Osage Native American blood.
Credits St. Exupery with her favorite quote: "If anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away".
Prima ballerina.
Acknowledged as the most technically accomplished ballerina ever produced in America.
Inducted into the National Womens Hall of Fame in 1996.
Starred with the New York City Ballet for 18 years.
Founded the Chicago City Ballet in 1981 and served as its artistic director (1981-1987).
She was an American ballerina.
She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1999 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
She created the role of the "Sugar Plum Fairy" in George Balanchine s production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky s "The Nutcracker".
She had her first ballet lessons in Colorado Springs. She also studied piano and ballet with local teachers in Oklahoma. She briefly considered becoming a concert pianist.
Her sister, Marjorie Tallchief, also became a ballerina, spending most of her career in Europe.
Her father was an Osage Indian and her mother was of Scottish-Irish heritage.
If anything at all, perfection is not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. .
