Born in 1925, Maria Tallchief spent part of her childhood on an Osage reservation in Oklahoma. With the support of her family and world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine, she rose to the top of her art form to become America's first prima ballerina. Black-and-white illustrations provide visual sidebars to the history of ballet while taking readers through the life of this amazing dancer.

Born in 1925, Maria Tallchief spent part of her childhood on an Osage reservation in Oklahoma. With the support of her family and world-renowned choreographer George Balanchine, she rose to the top of her art form to become America's first prima ballerina. Black-and-white illustrations provide visual sidebars to the history of ballet while taking readers through the life of this amazing dancer. Catherine Gourley is an award-winning author and editor of books for children and young adults. Many of her nonfiction books explore the media and popular culture, including women issues.  At present, she is the project director for Letters About Literature, a reading and writing promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and is the principal curriculum writer for The Story of Movies, a visual literacy educational outreach program of the The Film Foundation, Los Angeles.  She lives in Pennsylvania.