6 Chapter 5 Madame Nijinska

Chapter 5 Madame Nijinska California was full of colors that Maria had never seen in Oklahoma—groves of bright oranges, apricots, and peaches. The Pacific Ocean shimmered a silvery blue in the sunshine. Even her father seemed happier. He could golf every day!

Maria and Marjorie began their ballet lessons right away. Ernest Belcher welcomed the two girls into his class. He was shocked to learn that both Maria and Marjorie had been dancing on their toes for years. It was a miracle, he told Ruth, that both girls had not injured themselves. "Forget everything Mrs. Sabin showed you," he told his new pupils. "You must start all over and learn the basic steps."

Ballet school was hard work, but Maria was happy in Mr. Belcher's class. She was not so happy in Beverly Vista School, however. She could read far better than the other students in the third grade, so she was often bored with the lessons.

When she came into the classroom, the students covered their mouths with their hands and made war whoops. Where were her feathers? they teased. Did she live in a teepee? Was her last name Tall or was it Chief? How many scalps had her father taken? It didn't help much either when Ruth decided her girls would begin performing again at county fairs. She thought their Osage heritage would make them a more interesting act. She sewed new costumes—buckskins with fringe, headbands with feathers, and hawkbells down the outside of each

leg. Maria disliked the costume, but she disliked the dance routine even more. Osage women did not dance. Only men wore the traditional hawkbells. Grandma Tall Chief knew that. Why didn't her mother understand? Maria was proud of her Osage heritage, but this dance seemed all wrong. Ruth was determined. As long as the costumes fit, her daughters would dance to the tom-toms. As always, Maria did as she was told. The one thing Maria could change, however, was her name. She began to write Tallchief as one word, not two. Maybe that would stop some of the teasing.

When Maria was twelve—and the dreaded buckskin costume no longer fit—she met a woman who changed her life forever. The woman's name was Madame Nijinska, and she became Maria's new ballet instructor. Madame was short and round. Her large green eyes were hawk-like. She missed nothing. And she was demanding. Her pupils took their place at a long rail called the "barre" to begin their exercises. Madame's hard fingers rapped Maria's shoulder. Hold your elbow this way, she instructed. Use your back muscles. Over and over again she corrected Maria's movements.