American Indian Ballerinas [Hardcover]

Lili Cockerille Livingston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1997

This is the first authorized biography of four twentieth-century American Indian ballerinas: Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, Marjorie Tallchief, and Yvonne Chouteau. Each grew up in Oklahoma during the 1920s and 1930s and went on to achieve international fame. Lili Cockerille Livingston, who worked with all four ballerinas during her own career as a dancer, draws upon her extensive interviews with the women to bring their stories to life while also shedding new light both on the development of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the now-defunct Harkness Ballet and Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

American Indian Ballerinas includes authorized mini biographies of ballerinas Rosella Hightower, Yvonne Chouteau, Maria Tallchief (who recently published her autobiography), and her sister Marjorie Tallchief. All four dancers share a common ethnicity (Native American) and state of origin (Oklahoma), and all came to prominence at the roughly the same time, the 1940s-1960s--though the four had markedly different temperaments. Without working too hard to compare them, the book shows how their common heritage of dance and spirituality suffused their respective artistic careers.

From Library Journal

Livingston, a journalist and former dancer, has written the first authorized biography of Maria Tallchief (a 1996 Kennedy Center honoree), Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower, and Yvonne Chouteau. The book celebrates the accomplishments of these women, who share a state (Oklahoma), a profession (ballet), and a heritage (Native American). Livingston draws largely from interviews she conducted with the dancers, who describe their rise to fame, the touring life, and the complexities of combining professional and personal lives. The book successfully conveys the positive attitudes that played a significant part in each dancer's success, but it lacks the detail and objectivity readers have come to expect of biographies and dance histories. Ultimately this is light, enjoyable reading for balletomanes. Focusing on her remembrances of her years with choreographer George Balanchine, Tallchief's autobiography is more revealing. She met Balanchine at the start of her career, when she was with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Balanchine was about to form a company that would become a precursor to the New York City Ballet. Tallchief subsequently became Balanchine's wife, muse, and prima ballerina, and, though the marriage was short-lived, their artistic partnership endures in Balanchine's works created for Tallchief. She also writes about other stars, but the memoir sparkles when she recalls the subtlety and detail of a movement or the beauty of a musical phrase. Kaplan has coauthored biographies of Merrill Ashley and Edward Villela. Wholly satisfying fare for the seriously interested.?Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press; illustrated edition edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806128968
• ISBN-13: 978-0806128962
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,530,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, November 3, 2001

By 

C. Crouch (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Indian Ballerinas (Hardcover)

This book gives a very nice over-view of the four American Indian Ballerinas, tracing their careers and rise to stardom in a parallel fashion. You get a sense of where each dancer was in her training and her performance years with respect for the others. The easy going style paints a clear and accurate picture that dancers and non-dancers alike can enjoy.