Elizabeth Marie "Betty" Tallchief (Osage family name: Ki He Kah Stah Tsa; 24 January 1925 – 11 April 2013) was an immensely successful American ballerina. Beginning her training at an early age in Oklahoma, she relocated with her family to California to further the training of her sister and her.

Relocating again at the age of seventeen to New York City, she continued to train and eventually joined with the company of George Balanchine. When Balanchine co-founded what would become the New York City Ballet in 1946, Tallchief became the company's first star.

Tallchief and Balanchine were a successful pair. The combination of Balanchine's difficult choreography and Tallchief's passionate dancing revolutionized the ballet. Her 1949 role in The Firebird catapulted Tallchief to the top of the ballet world, establishing her as a prima ballerina. Her role as the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker transformed the ballet from obscure to America's most popular.

She traveled the world, becoming the first American to perform in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater. In 1996, Tallchief received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievements. Her life has been the subject of multiple documentaries and biographies.

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