Regarded by many as one of the greatest ballerinas in U.S. history, Native American Maria Tallchief gives her all in these telecasts from "The Bell Telephone Hour" and Radio-Canada archives. Included in this collection of her routines are dances from Balanchine's "Pas de Dix," the Allegro Brillante to Tchaikovsky's Third Piano Concerto, and many more. 83 min. Standard; Soundtrack: Dolby Digital mono.

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"Complete Bell Telephone Hour Appearances" and "Maria Tallchief in Montreal."

Tallchief made 5 guest appearances on the Bell Telephone Hour, with a starry assemblage of leading male dancers. The performances were broadcast in 1959,1961,1962,1964 and 1966.

The Bell Telephone Hour performances include:

Adagio from the "Scotch" Symphony (with André Eglevsky) music: Mendelssohn; choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust telecast of April 9, 1959

Grand pas de deux from Don Quixote (with Erik Bruhn) music: Minkus; choreography: Marius Petipa telecast of January 6, 1961

Pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano (with Rudolf Nureyev) music: Helsted & Paulli; choreography: Erik Bruhn, after Bournonville telecast of January 19, 1962

Allegro brillante to Tchaikovsky's Third Piano Concerto (with Nicholas Magallanes) music: Tchaikovsky; choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust telecast of February 25, 1964

"Balcony Scene" pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet (with Conrad Ludlow) music: Prokofiev; choreography: John Butler telecast of February 13, 1966

The second part of this DVD is "Maria Tallchief in Montreal."

These magnificent performances are the earliest known recordings of Tallchief's magnificent dancing. The performances were live telecasts from the archives of Radio-Canda, recorded between 1954 and 1963. Contents include:

1963 Pas de deux from Les Sylphides - Maria Tallchief, Royes Fernandez music: Chopin; choreography: Michel Fokine telecast of November 5, 1957

Pas de dix - Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky, and Corps de Balletmusic: Glazunov; choreography: George Balanchine after Marius Petipa telecast of March 25, 1954

Swan Lake - Scenes from Act II - Maria Tallchief, André Eglevsky music: Tchaikovsky; choreography: George Balanchine after Lex Ivanov

Total running time of the DVD is about 83 minutes. That may seem short, but for these kinds of rare recordings, you'll treasure and cherish every moment!

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Maria TallchiefAug 24, 2005
By Charlotte Henrichs "mscharlotte"
Maria Tallchief is a beautiful ballerina and her talents are shown in this great CD. I saw a little of it on PBS and it was so entrancing that I ordered the whole CD. A must for any ballet fan!

7 of 10 found the following review helpful:

This is just exactly what I wanted.Aug 15, 2003
By Ida J. Jeppesen "idaj"
I really got an idea of why she is such a legend. Thanks

What a treat!Jan 14, 2012
By Susan Stade-Bergstrom "Marvel Fan"
This is an amazing DVD. It's TV from the late fifties to early sixties, so not big on production. There's very little in the way of sets. But there is Tallchief and she is fascinating to watch. Her grace and precision make you catch your breath. As a bonus one of the performances was Rudolph Nureyev's American debut! Despite the fact that he is not well-matched to Tallchief, who is bigger than him, and he obviously has trouble holding her several times, Nureyev is so good that it doesn't really detract from his performance. Every movement he makes is magical. He makes all the other male dancers, very fine dancers, in the DVD look clumsy. IMHP he makes Baryshnikov look like a linebacker if not a bear. Several of the dances are choreographed by George Balanchine. If you love ballet, you will love this. Younger fans will be interested to see the physical difference in the dancers from most today. Maria Tallchief was not a teeny-tiny little woman. And the rough-hewn, craggy Andre' Egelv, who partners her in three of these performances is not your average guy in tights. BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL DANCE!