Hidden in History: The Untold Stories of Female Artists, Musicians, and Writers by Myra Faye Turner

Author:Myra Faye Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2018-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

Professional ballerina

Shortly after arriving in New York, Maria went to the Ballet Russe office. She glided in and asked to audition for Mr. Denham. The secretary told her that Mr. Denham was busy. They didn’t need dancers anyway, she said.

This photo was taken for the front cover of Dance Magazine in 1954.

Maria was heartbroken. But a few days later, she received a call from that same secretary. Maria didn’t even recall leaving her contact information. They needed a dancer after all for a Canadian tour that was starting immediately. Mr. Denham remembered Maria so she didn’t have to audi tion.

This was in 1942 and the company needed dancers because of World War II. Some of the Russian dancers had “Nansens” passports. These documents classified the dancers as Displaced Persons and prevented them from leaving the United St ates.

Luckily, there were two dancer spots available. The other spot went to an American girl named Gertrude Tyven, who used the last name Svobodina. Some dancers “Russianized” their names. This was the practice of making one’s name sound Russian, the assumption being Russians were better ballet da ncers.

The company soon boarded an overnight train to Montreal. During the tour, the routines varied nightly. Maria had to learn new routines quickly. “Dancing new roles on short notice was a way of life in the Ballet Russe . It didn’t trouble me. I was not self-conscious. I was comfortable going out and showing what I could do, whatever the risks,” she said. 76

At the end of the tour, one of the dancers dropped out. This opened up a permanent spot for one lucky ballerina. The position went to Maria. Her payment was $40 weekly. That’s the equivalent of about $605 in 2018.

On the first day of rehearsals, Maria was shocked when she walked in and heard music from Chopin Concerto. The she saw Madame Nijinska. The Ballet Russe was adding two of Madame’s ballets to their repertoire. The regular chorographer had quit and Madame had stepped in tempora rily.

It was during this time that 17-year-old Betty Marie changed her name. The company had added an American ballet, Rodeo, or The Courting at Burnt Ranch. Agnes de Mille wrote the b allet.

One night de Mille told the young dancer to change her name. “There are so many Bettys and Elizabeths in the ballet,” she said. 77 She suggested she transform her middle name. She told Maria to change her last name to “Tallchieva.” Maria was proud of her heritage and wouldn’t budge on the last name. However, she decided to use Maria as her first name. She officially became Maria Tall chief.

FAST FACT Maria’s parents continued to call her Betty or Betty Marie even after she changed her name.

Although Maria was making $40 a week, the ballet deducted money for the dancers hotel rooms when they traveled. The dancers used a trick called “ghosting.” One person rented the room and three shared it. One slept on the mattress, another on the bed’s box spring, while the third dozed on the f loor.

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