The Ballerina
Date created: 2007
In the year 1997, five Native American women were named Oklahoma’s treasures by former Governor Frank Keating. They were honored with a mural in the Oklahoma Capitol called “Flight of Spirit”. Their accomplishments, fueled by the passion and spirit of their Native American backgrounds, stretched worldwide and they became known as “The Five Indian Ballerinas”.
Maria Tallchief, Majorie Tallchief, Yvonne Chouteau, Moscelyne Larkin, and Rosella Hightower had the technique and the training that it takes to be a spectacular dancer, but it was the vitality of their expression of the Indian soul that made audiences worldwide so captivated with these five dancers and what eventually led them to earn prima ballerina titles. After wildly successful careers in dance companies all over the world, they remained in the dance world. Each dancer either founded or expanded dance companies in Dallas, Chicago, Paris, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City.
This statue, honoring their legacy, resides in the Civic Center Music Hall where the Oklahoma City Ballet performs four times a year.