A biography of the Osage Indian ballerina whose love of dance took her from a life on a reservation to a career on the stage.

"Maria Tallchief loved to dance, but was told that she might need to change her Osage name to one that sounded more Russian to make it as a professional ballerina. She refused, and worked hard at dancing her best, becoming America's first prima ballerina. Many famous American ballets were created for Maria!" -- Amazon.com. "A biography of Maria Tallchief, part of the She Persisted chapter book series"--

"Maria Tallchief knew she wanted to dance while watching Osage dancers as a child in Oklahoma. For tribal ceremonies, only men were allowed to dance. But, Maria went on to become America's first prima ballerina. She was one of the best dancers in the world"--