Moscelyne Larkin

Moscelyne Larkin (born 1925) is one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma to gain international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the Tulsa Ballet and its associated school. It became a major regional company in the American Southwest and made its New York City debut in 1983. She is portrayed in the mural Flight of Spirit displayed in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building.

Early life and education

Moscelyne Larkin was born in Miami, Oklahoma on January 14, 1925. Her father Ruben Larkin was a Peoria-Shawnee. Her mother Eva Matlagova-Larkin was Russian and a ballet dancer. Larkin's mother trained her in ballet until the girl was old enough to move to New York City to further her studies. There she studied under Vincenzo Celli, Mikhail Mordkin, and Anatole Vilzak-Shollar.^[1]

Dancing career

In 1941, at age 15, Larkin joined Colonel Wassily de Basil's Original Ballet Russe.^[2] She performed with the company in Europe and the Americas. While dancing with the company, Larkin met her future husband Roman Jasinski, a premier danseur from Poland.^[3]

In 1948 Larkin achieved the rank of ballerina; she and her husband had both moved to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, directed by Sergei Denham.^[2] Radio City Music Hall often showcased her as a prima ballerina.^[1] In 1954 Larkin toured Asia, performing in Alexandra Danilova's "Great Movements in Dance." Larkin excelled in comical roles as a soubrette. For example, she played the can-can dancer in Gaîté Parisienne. Agnes de Mille, the choreographer and dancer, admired Larkin's performance as the Cowgirl in Aaron Copland's Rodeo, a role which de Mille premiered.^[4]

Marriage and family

Larkin married Roman Jasinski in 1943. After they had a son, Roman Larkin Jasinski, on February 21, 1954, they decided to retire from performing. They moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they created a ballet school and founded the Tulsa Civic Ballet (later known as Tulsa Ballet). It became a major company in the Southwest and made its premier in New York in 1983.^[5] Larkin introduced area schoolchildren to ballet and also taught ballet to higher level students at the University of Tulsa.^[1]

She was particularly devoted to encouraging young Native American dancers. With the Tulsa Ballet, she helped produce three Oklahoma Indian Ballerina Festivals.

Honors

• 1967, Quapaw-Cherokee composer Louis Ballard wrote the music for the ballet, The Four Moons, for the Oklahoma Indian Ballerina Festival that year. The ballet honors the Five Moons: Larkin, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, and sisters Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. In its solos, the dancers evoked their four distinct tribal cultures.^[6]
• 1978, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame inducted Larkin.
• 1988, she received the annual Dance Magazine Award.
• 1993, Larkin was inducted in the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame. The Council of American Indians honored her as "Outstanding Indian."
• Chickasaw artist Mike Larsen included Larkin in his monumental mural, Flight of Spirit, displayed in the Great Rotunda of the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Foster, Toni Annette. Larkin, Moscelyne (1925-). Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 2009 (retrieved 10 Feb 2009)
2. ^ ^{a b} Livingston, Lili Cockerille. American Indian Ballerinas. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999: xix.
3. ^ [1] (retrieved 22 November 2009)
4. ^ Watts, James D., Jr. "Breathing life through dance", The Tulsa World. 15 July 2007 (retrieved 10 Feb 2009)
5. ^ Jack Anderson, "Roman Jasinski, 83, Ex-Dancer And a Leader in Regional Ballet", New York Times, 17 April 1991, accessed 26 March 2011
6. ^ Everett, Dianna. Ballard, Louis Wayne (1931-). Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. 2009 (retrieved 10 Feb 2009)

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Name	Larkin, Moscelyne
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Date of birth	1925
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