TitleInterview with Marjorie Tallchief, 1976
NamesTallchief, Marjorie (Interviewee)Shelton, Suzanne (Interviewer)
CollectionDance Oral History Project
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1976-09-07
Library locationsJerome Robbins Dance DivisionShelf locator: *MGZTC 3-1767 (former)
TopicsMarkova, Alicia, Dame, 1910-2004Massine, Leonide, 1896-1979Nijinska, Bronislava, 1891-1972Tallchief, MarjorieSkibine, George, 1920-1981American Ballet TheatreGrand Ballet de Monte CarloOpéra de Paris. BalletFirebird (Choreographic work : Lifar)
GenresOral historiesInterviews
NotesSource characteristics: Sound quality is fair. There is occasional extraneous noise (static from the microphone), but overall the speakers' voices are easily intelligible.Venue: Recorded for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division Oral History Project September 7, 1976 Dallas, Texas.Funding: The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the Barbara Goldsmith Conservation Division of the New York Public Library as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
Physical DescriptionAudiocassetteExtent: 2 audiocassettes (approximately 1 hr., 17 min.) ; polyester, quarter-track
DescriptionStreaming file 1 (approximately 13 minutes). [The first approximately one minute of the recording is a fragment of a separate interview, with George Skibine.]. Maria Tallchief speaks with Suzanne Shelton about working with Leonide Massine; Alicia Markova, as a dancer; dancing with Markova in Giselle, including Markova's refusal to rehearse with her.
Streaming file 2 (approximately 46 minutes). Marjorie Tallchief speaks with Suzanne Shelton about her childhood and family background; her early dance training and teachers including Ernst Belcher, David Lichine, and Bronislava Nijinska; Ballet Theatre [later American Ballet Theatre]; some of her roles including Queen of the Wilis with Alicia Markova as Giselle, and Medusa in Antony Tudor's Undertow; her brief time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; her time with the Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo [later the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas] including her impressions of the Marquis de Cuevas; George Skibine, her husband; more on Nijinska; joining the Paris Opera Ballet (Opéra de Paris Ballet), with her husband; some of her roles including Giselle; performing with her husband; her view of herself as a lyrical dancer and some of her favorite roles; more on their time at the Paris Opera Ballet; her children; the role of the Firebird (in Serge Lifar's version); leaving the Paris Opera Ballet and returning to the United States; her time with the Harkness Ballet including dancing with Erik Bruhn and performing works by Alvin Ailey; dancing for Ruth Page with the Chicago Opera Ballet; Rebekah Harkness [ends abruptly but continues on streaming file 3].
Streaming file 3 (approximately 18 minutes). Marjorie Tallchief continues to speak with Suzanne Shelton about Rebekah Harkness and the Harkness Ballet; leaving the Harkness Ballet and moving to Dallas, Texas; teaching; developing a professional company with her husband, in Dallas (the Dallas Ballet); the gala featuring Native American ballerinas; her sister, Maria Tallchief; her thoughts on coaching and classical roles.
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 78403563 NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b12119136Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 14231730-b315-0133-b1ac-3c07547a230f
Rights StatementThe copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
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