Nancy Buirski, Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq

Nancy Buirski’s documentary Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq, first seen at the NY Film Festival, vividly delivers a close-up of one of the great romantic tragedies of contemporary ballet. Le Clerq, was a uniquely gifted ballerina with an innovative style, who married and was muse to George Balanchine. While part of the New York City Ballet, in 1956, she was stricken by polio- at the height of her career. She was 27 and never danced again. By using interviews, extremely rare footage of Le Clercq in the signature roles created for her by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Buirski, a Peabody and Emmy winner, probes the dazzling heights and decades-long aftermath to this dramatic story.

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