It was good to see so many people at Proctor’s Theatre last Thursday night! It’s always a good sign when local arts venues are supported. Most people were there to see Flashdance, The Musical, but I was on the other side of the house, in the intimate GE Theatre to see a dance documentary.

The crowd was small for Afternoon of a Faun, a film about New York City Ballet (NYCB) dancer, Tanequil Le Clerc. Tanny, as she was called by her fellow dancers, was one of George Balanchine’s muses, and was the first tall, long limbed NYCB dancer. She was the archetype for what we now consider the NYCB female dancer. Unfortunately, most people have never heard of her because her career ended abruptly in 1956 when she contracted Polio at the age of twenty seven.

The film presents Tanny’s story through historical film footage, kinescopes of Tanny performing, and modern interviews with her friends and colleagues.  Since she was in her prime in the mid to late 1950’s, most of those old performance films are of very low quality. But that really doesn’t matter as her dancing is amazing. Not only did she have beautiful long lines, but she also had a personality both on and off stage. Watching her dance brought tears to my eyes.

The interviews with Tanny’s friends and fellow dancers provided insight into her relationship with both George Balanchine whom she married, and Jerome Robbins, who for a time was one of her closest friends. The interviews with Jacques d’Amboise, who was one of her dance partners, gave insights into what it was like to dance with Tanny.

A great deal of the movie deals with her life after dance and how she adjusted to life out of the spotlight and how she eventually came back to a dance as an instructor with the Dance Theater of Harlem.

If you are a ballet fan, I highly recommend that you watch this film. There are a few more chances if you live in the Capital Region. Proctors will show it again on Tuesday, 5/13/14 at 3:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:30pm. It will also be at the Saratoga Film Forum on Friday, 7/11/14 and Sunday, 7/13/14, both showings at 7:30pm.