Tanaquil Le Clercq ( ; October 2, 1929 – December 31, 2000) was an American ballet dancer, born in Paris, France, who became a principal dancer with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

at the age of nineteen. Her dancing career ended abruptly when she was stricken with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

during the company's European tour in 1956. Eventually regaining most of the use of her arms and torso, she remained paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life.

Biography

Le Clercq was the daughter of Jacques Le Clercq, a European American intellectual, professor of French at Queens College in the 1950s-early 1970s, and his American wife, Edith (née Whittemore); she studied ballet with

Mikhail Mordkin __NOTOC__ Mikhail Mordkin (russian: Михаил Михайлович Мордкин; December 9, 1880, Moscow, Russian Empire - July 15, 1944, New York) graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1899, and in the same year was appointed ballet ...

before auditioning for the School of American Ballet in 1941, where she won a scholarship. When Le Clercq was fifteen years old, famed choreographer George Balanchine asked her to perform with him in a dance he choreographed for a polio charity benefit. In an eerie portent of things to come (Le Clercq would contract polio at twenty-seven and never recover mobility in her legs), he played a character named Polio, and Le Clercq was his victim who became paralyzed and fell to the floor. Then, children tossed dimes at her character, prompting her to get up and dance again. Le Clercq was considered Balanchine's first ballerina: she was trained in his style from childhood and she was one of his most important muses, together with dancers like Maria Tallchief and, later on, Suzanne Farrell. During Le Clercq's tenure with the company, Balanchine,

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

, and

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

all created roles for her. Years later, after being stricken with polio, she reemerged as a dance teacher and as one student recalled, "used her hands and arms as legs and feet." She taught at

Dance Theater of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...

from 1974 to 1982. Le Clercq's life and career are profiled in the 2013 documentary film, ''Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq''. Novelist

Varley O'Connor Varley O'Connor is an American novelist and short story writer. She is an associate professor at Kent State University. Biography Having earned a BFA in acting from Boston University, O’Connor worked for several years as an actress. She ...

created a fictional account of the relationship between Tanaquil LeClercq and George Balanchine in ''The Master's Muse'' (Scribner 2012).

Personal life

Tanaquil Le Clercq was the fourth and last wife (1952–1969) of George Balanchine, the pioneer of American ballet. He obtained a quick divorce from her to woo

Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945) is an American ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Farrell began her ballet training at the age of eight. In 1960, she received a scholarship ...

(who refused Balanchine's marriage proposal and went on to marry another Balanchine dancer, Paul Mejia). Le Clercq died of pneumonia in New York Hospital at the age of 71.

Bibliography

* * *Acocella, Joan (2007). ''Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays''. New York: Pantheon. *

Notes

References

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External links

Archive film of Tanaquil Le Clercq and Nicholas Magallanes in 1951 at Jacob's PillowMuse of many faces: Ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq's life and times Tanaquil Le Clercq and Jacques d'Amboise performing ''Afternoon of a Faun'' - Pas de Deux (1953) for "PBS American Masters" on www.pbs.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Clercq, Tanaquil 1929 births 2000 deaths French emigrants to the United States Prima ballerinas Dancers from Paris New York City Ballet principal dancers People with polio School of American Ballet alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City