A world-famous ballerina's rise above a devastating illness
Dancing Past the Light cinematically illuminates the glamorous and heartbreaking life of Tanaquil "Tanny" Le Clercq (1929‒2000), one of the most celebrated ballerinas of the twentieth century, who became paralyzed with polio at the height of her brilliant stage career.
Born in Paris, Le Clercq became a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet at age 19 and a role model for aspiring dancers everywhere. Orel Protopopescu recounts Le Clercq's intense marriage to the company's renowned choreographer George Balanchine, for whom Le Clercq was a muse, the prototype of the exquisite, long-limbed "Balanchine ballerina." Enhanced with a wealth of previously unpublished photos, personal letters, and sketches by Balanchine, this book offers an intimate portrait of Le Clercq's dancing life and her relationship to the man who was both her mentor and husband. It delves into her friendships with other dancers as well, including a longtime rival for her affections, choreographer Jerome Robbins.
Tragically, Le Clercq contracted polio while on tour in Europe at age 27, never to dance again. This book offers a rare account of how Le Clercq grappled with the worst fate imaginable for a ballerina and reinvented herself as a writer and dance teacher. It also highlights Le Clercq's little-known legacy as an advocate for racial equality and disability rights in the arts, from participating in the company's first interracial pas de deux with Arthur Mitchell in 1955 to her involvement with Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem later in life, where—teaching from a wheelchair—she kept alive the dances she'd loved.
With insights from interviews with her former friends, students, and colleagues, Dancing Past the Light depicts Le Clercq's extraordinary capacity to find joy in the dark moments of her dramatic life. Readers will be inspired by Le Clercq's determination to take what many saw as sad limitations and build from them a mighty legacy.
