Five Moons Festival ‘24
A celebration of classical ballet and Native roots in Norman, OK
The five moons festival is a celebration of achievement in dance put on by the OU dance department and taking place August 24-25th in Norman, Oklahoma. This is the third annual edition and will honor Yvonne Chouteau the accomplished Shawnee ballerina. Yvonne was born on March 7th, 1929 in Fort Worth, Texas and came from one of the oldest pioneering families in Oklahoma.
She was extremely determined from a young age and joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at only 14 years old. At 18 years old, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and continued dancing for the Russes another 10 years. She worked with all the leading choreographers of the day including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, and Bronislav Nijinska.
Chouteau met her husband in the company, fellow principal dancer Miguel Terekhov, and the two married. They went on to join the University of Oklahoma in 1960 as artists in residence and started founding the modern dance department there. In 1963 they founded the Oklahoma City Ballet — a groundbreaking company that still exists today with an emphasis on incorporating Native American themes.
Yvonne Chouteau’s life and legacy are also forever memorialized in a work known as the Four Moons Ballet. This ballet was custom composed by Quapaw classical music composer Louis W. Ballard and includes four variations of the leading Native American ballerinas of the day, of which Yvonne was one. All ballerinas were born and raised in Oklahoma and had been trained by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo before either moving on to found their own projects or dance with other prestigious companies around the world.
The four variations represent each ballerina’s personal achievements as well as their stories and a slight homage to the tribes they originate from. The tribes include the Osage (Marjorie), Peoria (Moscelyne), Choctaw (Rosella), and Shawnee (Yvonne). This ballet premiered in 1967 at the Oklahoma Statehood Celebration’s 60th anniversary and was debuted alongside works by George Balanchine. Many years later, the work is being revived for newfound audiences especially towards a celebration of Indigenous creativity and fine arts achievement in the U.S.
Sections from the ballet will be performed at this year’s festival along with original work by guest artist Elisa Harkins. Speaking on the Four Moons Ballet’s history and composer will be myself and contemporary Native classical composer Jerod Tate. Join us!
The composer’s granddaughter: Simone A. Ballard training classical ballet in New Orleans, LA in 2024.
