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.
Contents |
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]
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]
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.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||