Tanaquil LeClerq
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Tanaquil LeClerq (b. 2 October 1929, Paris - d. 2000, New York City) was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, but her dancing career was ended when she was stricken with polio and paralyzed from the waist down.
During her tenure with the company, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Merce Cunningham all created roles for her. She began teaching and as one student recalled: "She used her hands and arms as legs and feet".
She was the fourth and last wife of George Balanchine (1952 - 1969), but not his last muse. Balanchine obtained a quick divorce from her to woo Suzanne Farrell, who rejected his proposal and married a fellow dancer.
Tanaquil LeClerq died in 2000 in New York City.
[edit] References
- "Notices", TIME, Feb. 14, 1969. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- Marc Shell (2005). Polio and its aftermath: the paralysis of culture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01315-8.