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IMPRESSIONS OF AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: Tanaquil Le Clercq
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A POSTCARD from Nancy Buirski, Director of "Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil Le Clercq"
Photo: Tanaquil le Clercq
Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq
Nancy Buirski, 2013
USA | 91 minutes
Series: New Releases at the Film Society
Venue: Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
Dates: Feb 28-March 6, 2014
For film times, click here.
Two terpsichorean muses will be heralded in one afternoon.
Janie Taylor, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, will announce her retirement following a film screening of Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq at the Film Society of Lincoln Center this March 2, 2014.
Afternoon of a Faun is an ode to Tanaquil le Clercq, a Parisian-born principal dancer with the New York City Ballet in the 1940s-50s. Le Clercq was heralded by some of the greatest choreographers including George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins; the former wedded the dancer while the latter created Afternoon of a Faun, one of his best works, especially for her.
Photo © Jerome Robbins/ Robbins Rights Trust
The dazzling dancer’s career came to a screeching halt in 1956 while New York City Ballet was touring Europe; le Clercq was severely afflicted with polio at the mere age of 27. Ensuing paralysis forced her off the stage, but not out of the spotlight. Although the tale sounds awfully tragic, Buirski’s documentary sheds positive light on le Clercq's perseverance.
Tanaquil Le Clercq and George Balanchine for Metaphorphoses
The dance documentary, which first premiered at New York Film Festival 2013, is showing at the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center for a limited one-week engagement from Feb 28-March 6, 2014. Read our spoiler-free IMPRESSION of the film here.
Photo: Tanaquil le Clercq © Jerome Robbins/ Robbins Rights Trust
Photo: Janie Taylor in a Henry Leutwyler portrait
Buy your tickets to Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq - a film made to inspire art lovers, historians, film buffs, and dance enthusiasts. Even better, attend March 2nd’s 2:15PM screening to meet film director Buirski and bid audieu to NYCB’s present principal dancer Janie Taylor.
