27, 1949, prima ballerina Maria Tallchief waited for her ... It was during her time with Ballet Russe that Tallchief met the choreographer George Balanchine, who noticed her talent and began ...

At George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, Tallchief fulfilled her ambition of becoming America’s prima ballerina, marking a historic milestone as the first Native American artist to attain this ...

Tallchief, who died in 2013, was America's first prima ballerina, and her daughter, Elise Paschen, tells PEOPLE how "exciting" it is to see her mother memorialized as a Barbie Maria Tallchief is a ...