Template:Did you know nominations/Maria Tallchief

The following is an archived discussion of Maria Tallchief's DYK nomination. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page; such as this archived nomination"s (talk) page, the nominated article's (talk) page, or the Did you know (talk) page. Unless there is consensus to re-open the archived discussion here. No further edits should be made to this page. See the talk page guidelines for (more) information.

The result was: promoted by Allen3 ^talk 14:05, 2 May 2013 (UTC).

Maria Tallchief edit

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... that from 1954 to 1955 Maria Tallchief (pictured) made US$2,000 a week as a ballerina, the highest salary ever paid to a dancer at the time?

Reviewed: Henry Seidu Daanaa
Comment: Article appeared on the recent deaths section of ITN, which is currently a gray area of the DYK rules. I asked about it eligibility on the DYK talk page and got minimal reply. Experienced DYKer Mandarax said "articles in the 'Recent deaths' subsection are simply listed and are not bold, so I'd say that does not disqualify them from DYK." I believe this is a correct interpretation of the rules bothy literally (item is not featured) and in spirit (very little updating goes into an RD unlike most ITN items).

5x expanded by ThaddeusB (talk). Self nominated at 01:11, 20 April 2013 (UTC).

profound article on good sources. Can we show her dancing, or at least as on the cover page? - I would prefer a hook about her art to this on money, but it is catchy and sourced. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:30, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

There are several free pictures available. Any are fine by me:

Here are some alternate hooks, as per your suggestion:

ALT1: ... that Maria Tallchief (pictured) was the first American ballerina ever to appear at Russia's historic Bolshoi Theatre?

ALT2: ... that prima ballerina Maria Tallchief's (pictured) dancing was described as "a kind of conscious dreaming, a reverie with backbone"?

ALT3: ... that according to prima ballerina Maria Tallchief (pictured), her fate was decided by "an anonymous man in an unfamiliar town" as a child?

or I'm open to another suggestion. --ThaddeusB (talk) 23:38, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

Good pictures and ideas! I prefer the pic showing her face. Of the ALTs, I like ALT1 best, but can't find it in the two sources given. Btw, please sort the references in numerical order, this shows 7 then 2. How about something that she was of Native American origin, inspired and married Balanchine, was Nurejew's partner of choice, - just ideas? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:43, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

The last pic is my favorite as well for display at 100px - it really is an intriguing picture. ALT1 is suported by page 3 of the WAPost obit (you probably didn't notice there are multiple pages): "In 1960, Ms. Tallchief performed in Russia with Danish ballet sensation Erik Bruhn, making her the first American dancer to appear at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow." In regards to the numbering, work is ongoing on the article so the numbering tends to change periodically (it is set automatically by the software). Thus the ref ordering is a low priority to me.

I wouldn't want to do a Native American hook, because IMO its not all that "hooky" and it cheapens her accomplishments. Tallchief is important primarily not because she was the first Native American prima ballerina but b/c she was one of the greatest ballerinas ever without qualification. Something with Balanchine could definitely work:

ALT4: ... that prima ballerina Maria Tallchief (pictured), together with choreographer George Balanchine, is credited with revolutionizing ballet?

ALT4 or ALT1 seems equally interesting to me. Working the marriage into ALT4 is probably a little awkward. The Nureyev fact is perfectly fine, but probably not very interesting to anyone who doesn't already know who is he. --ThaddeusB (talk) 04:13, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

I can follow, but would like something more specific. What do you think of something like this?

ALT5: ... that George Balanchine, who revolutionized ballet, created the lead of The Firebird specifically for Maria Tallchief (pictured)? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:12, 27 April 2013 (UTC)

There is nothing wrong with ALT5 and I don't object to it, but I don't think it is as hooky either. In my experience, if you make the reader curious ("how did she revolution ballet?") they are more likely to click through than just if you give them some interesting information. In this case, I think someone might be interested in learning more about Balanchine, but not so much about Tallchief. ("who is this guy who revolutionized ballet?" not "why did he pick this dancer for the part?") Again, its not a big deal, so if the third party that closes this wants to pick ALT5 I won't complain. (We will need a DYKtick or DYKagain mark to alert people that is ready for a final decision on which hook to pick though) --ThaddeusB (talk) 01:51, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

We are not in a rush, right? I see your point, but I feel saying "she did, together with him", is giving a bit too much credit to her. But this is just DYK, so ALT4 is fine with me. Offline sources accepted AGF, pic free. The wonderful pic will "sell" the hook whatever we say. I hope strongly that it will be taken, "America's Prima Ballerina" deserves it. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:47, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Agreed on the picture and that Tallchief deservesher picture featured. I seee yourpoint on the wording, so suggest a tweak:

ALT6: ... that the choreography of George Balanchine combined with the dancing of prima ballerina Maria Tallchief (pictured) is credited with revolutionizing ballet?

Alt4-6 are essentially the same in content; it is just a question of which wording is best. The promoter should this fell free to use his/her own judgment. Thanks for the review. --ThaddeusB (talk) 14:50, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

I like ALT6 best, thanks for thinking and improving, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:58, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

ALT4, 5 and 6, with ALT 6 being preferred. Putting this one here again, due to it perhaps not being overly visible anymore.—♦♦ AMBER^(ЯʘCK) 21:31, 1 May 2013 (UTC)