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Words On Dance San Francisco October 7, 2009 New York City Debut November 12, 2009 Celebrating Maria Tallchief with Evelyn Cisneros  Click icon for a short film clip Words On Dance is proud to announce as part of its 15th anniversary, an intimate screening of a seminal interview with Maria Tallchief interviewed by Evelyn Cisneros from (1998). Ms. Deborah Dubowy, Producer will be present at this event. Paley Center for Media 25 West 52 Street New York, NY 10019 Thursday November 12, 2009 1:00 PM, free to the public Artist Biographies Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma, on January 24, 1925. Fairfax is located on the Osage Indian Reservation. Her grandfather had helped negotiate the treaty (agreement) that established the reservation and kept the tribe's right to own any minerals found on the land. When oil was discovered on the reservation, the Osage became the wealthiest Native American tribe in the country. Maria's father, Alexander Joseph Tall Chief, an Osage Indian, was a wealthy real estate executive. Her mother, Ruth Mary Porter Tall Chief, was of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Eliza Big Heart, her grandmother, frequently took young Maria and her sister, Marjorie, to the ceremonial tribal dances. Tallchief began ballet and piano lessons at the age of three and frequently performed before civic organizations in Osage County. By age eight she and her sister had exhausted the training resources in Oklahoma, and the family moved to Beverly Hills, California. Although her mother hoped she would be a concert pianist, Tallchief devoted more and more of her time to dance. At one of her performances she devoted half of her program to the piano and half to dance. By age twelve Tallchief was studying under Madame Nijinska, sister of the great Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky (1890–1950), and David Lichine, a student of the renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1882–1931). When she was fifteen years old, Tallchief danced her first solo performance at the Hollywood Bowl in a number choreographed by Nijinska. Following her graduation from Beverly Hills High School in 1942, it was apparent that ballet would be Tallchief's life. Instead of college she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, a highly acclaimed Russian ballet troupe based in New York City. She made her debut with the company in Canada. It was at this time that Marie Elizabeth Tall Chief changed her name to Maria Tallchief to give herself a more European image. Her career included: Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo 1942-1948, Balanchine Ballet Society, now called the New York City Ballet 1948-1966, Chicago City Ballet 1981-1987 Tallchief was presented with a National Medal of the Arts award by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1999. For More Information Browne, Vee. Maria Tallchief, Prima Ballerina. Parsippany, NJ: Modern Curriculum Press, 1994. Tallchief, Maria, and Larry Kaplan. Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina. New York: Henry Holt, 1997. Gourley, Catherine. Who Is Maria Tallchief? New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2002. Lang, Paul. Maria Tallchief: Native American Ballerina. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1997. From: www.notablebiographies.com Evelyn Cisneros Evelyn Cisneros was born in 1959 and raised in Huntington Beach, California. Her grandparents were migrant workers from Mexico and her parents were very involved with the local Hispanic community. As children she and her brother attended a Spanish-speaking church and were taught to be proud of their heritage. However, Cisneros was crippled by shyness. "I found that shyness was keeping me bound and captive in its own box," she said in a convocation speech she gave at Mills College of Oakland, California. At the age of four, she was made to join a children's choir during a Christmas recital. As she sang she slowly lifted the hem of her dress so that by the end of the song it was completely over her head, safely hiding her from public view. Telling the story at Mills College she recalled, "I suppose that was the first time I upstaged anyone." Her shyness continued to plague her until, at the age of seven, her mother Esther took action. Cisneros told the students at Mills, "one day my mother took me to buy a pair of tights, a leotard and ballet slippers, shortly after that I found myself in ballet class. At first I was so frightened and would feign stomach aches, headaches, any illness to keep me from this alien atmosphere, but my mother and I had a deal that I would stick with it for one year and if I still didn't want to go, I could quit." Instead, she fell in love with ballet. She married Stephen Legate in 1996 and has one son, Ethan. Her career included: San Francisco Ballet, Ballerina, 1976-1999; San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Education Coordinator, 2002–. Guest Dancer, appearances include: Monterrey, Mexico, 1991; Madrid, Spain, 1990; International Ballet Festival with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, 1990; International Ballet Festival, Havana, Cuba, 1984, 198 From: www.gale.cengage.comhttp://www.notablebiographies.comhttp://www.gale.cengage.comPM_Movie.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1

Maria Tallchief and Evelyn Cisneros

1998

Sheryl Schindler @

Donald Jones Photography


Maria Tallchief, Firebird

George Platt Lynes

courtesy of Ms. Tallchief


Evelyn Cisneros in Caniparoli’s Lambarena.

(© Lloyd Englert)

Maria Tallchief, Firebird

George Platt Lynes

courtesy of Ms. Tallchief


Evelyn Cisneros in Caniparoli’s Lambarena.

(© Lloyd Englert)