Born: March 7 1929, United States
Died: January 24 2016
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Myra Yvonne Chouteau
Shawnee dancer Yvonne Chouteau was one of the “Five Moons”, Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma who gained international fame in the 20th century, along with Moscelyne Larkin, Rosella Hightower and sisters Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. Chouteau got her start with the Ballet Russe, and was one of the youngest dancers ever accepted into a professional company when she joined them at age 14. She worked with famed choreographers like Balnchine, Nijinska, Agnes de Mille and others, performings in works like Giselle, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. She also became the youngest person inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame when she was just 18. In her early 30s, she returned to Oklahoma to take up an artistic residency at the University of Oklahoma. In 1963, she and her husband, a fellow former Ballet Russe dancer, founded the Oklahoma City Civic Ballet, now known as the Oklahoma City Ballet.