Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq

Sep 30 2013 Not Rated 1h 31m
Biography, Documentary, Drama

Of all the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent. With a body unlike any before hers, she mesmerized viewers and choreographers alike. With her elongated, race-horse physique, she became the new prototype for the great George Balanchine. Because of her extraordinary movement and unique personality on stage, she became a muse to two of the greatest choreographers in dance, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She eventually married Balanchine, and Robbins created his famous version of Afternoon of a Faun for her. She had love, fame, adoration, and was the foremost dancer of her day until it suddenly all stopped. At the age of 27, she was struck down by polio and paralyzed. She never danced again. The ballet world has been haunted by her story ever since.

Official Trailer
Plot

Of all the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent. With a body unlike any before hers, she mesmerized viewers and choreographers alike - her elongated, race-horse physique became the new prototype for the great George Balanchine. Her unique style, humor and authenticity redefined ballet for all dancers who followed. Amazingly, she was the muse to not one great artist but two; both George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins loved her as a dancer and a woman. Balanchine married her and Robbins created his famous version of Afternoon of a Faun for Tanny. Tanaquil Le Clercq was the foremost dancer of her day until it suddenly all stopped. On a tour of Europe, she was struck down by polio and paralyzed. She never danced again.

Written by

Nancy Buirski

Directed by

Nancy Buirski

Cast

Tanaquil Le Clerq, Jacques d'Amboise, Barbara Horgan

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Augusta Films, Steeplechase Films

Languages

English

Awards

3 nominations

Trailers
Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq | Trailer | New Release
Scores
# of Votes
300
Average Rating
7.2 out of 10
Metascore
76
Popularity
NA