Betty Marie, born on 1925, growing up in Oklahoma. When Betty was a little child she would listen to her grandmother stories. Are grandmother would tell her the stories about fire spirits and animals. So Betty wanted to get out of her shell and do something different. She wanted to do ballet and loved it.
When Betty started doing ballet she was four years old. She was taught by her hometown dance instructor. As years past she became a local star. She performed in rodeos and county fairs. There was a problem, her instructor said that she didn 't learn the proper basics. Betty took that harsh but realized that she can do a lot better.
Years later, Betty and her family moved to California. When she moved she started to go to Beverly Vista School. She didn 't like going to her new school. At school she would get teased because of her race. Betty wouldn 't listen to the kids that would teased her she just kept on dancing. She would get teased also about her name but didn 't care she loved her last name, Tallchief.
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Later in her career, Betty changed her name to Maria but kept her last name, Tallchief. She thought it sounded great and professional. As the years went on for Betty she became a New York City Ballet prima ballerina. Also got an award called “Woman of the Year”, she got it because she was the first american in the century to dance for Paris Opera. The president, President Eisenhower gave the award to Maria.
When she became a professional ballerina she performed a dance she made called “The Firebird”. She made that dance because of her grandmother. Her grandmother would tell her stories about animals and spirits that walk the earth. She made that play because of her grandmother. Performing that dance was for her grandmother and the stories that her grandmother told Maria