Brilliant US ballerina Tallchief dies at 88

Chicago bluesman Dawkins dead

NEW YORK, April 13, (Agencies): One of America’s finest ballerinas and the muse and wife of legendary choreographer George Balanchine has died, aged 88.

Maria Tallchief died Thursday in Chicago, where she had founded the short-lived Chicago City Ballet, the family announced. She had previously been the dazzling prima ballerina with the New York City Ballet from 1948 to 1965, working with Balanchine, who was also briefly her husband.

“My mother was a ballet legend, who was proud of her Osage heritage,” said daughter Elise Paschen in a statement, referring to Tallchief’s Native American background.

“Her dynamic presence lit up the room. I will miss her passion, commitment to her art and devotion to her family. She raised the bar high and strove for excellence in everything she did.”

Balanchine created the lead role of Stravinsky’s “Firebird” for her, among many others, while her performances in the choreographer’s take on “Swan Lake” and “Orpheus” helped cement his stature.

Her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Balanchine’s 1954 “Nutcracker,” wrote The Washington Post, helped “transform” a previously obscure ballet into “an American holiday staple and the ballet world’s most perennially reliable box-office draw.”

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CHICAGO: Chicago bluesman

Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins, known for his excellent guitar playing and mellow singing voice, has died. He was 76. Delmark Records owner Bob

Koester said Dawkins died Wednesday. The cause of death wasn’t immediately known. Dawkins was born in

Mississippi. An only child, Dawkins taught himself to play guitar before moving to Chicago in the 1950s.

Koester says Dawkins began playing Chicago’s blues clubs in the 1960s, gaining a reputation as an excellent side man and playing with such notables as Otis Rush and Buddy Guy.