Friday, February 28, 2014

Reel Deal: Movies That Matter : Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq dir Nancy Buirski pub 2/1/2014 Westview News

Afternoon of a Faun: Tanaquil le Clercq  dir Nancy Buirski

Nancy Buirski follows up her award-winning The Loving Story with this sensitive documentary about the prima ballerina wife of George Balanchine.  It is a portrait of a dancer and wife who, at 27, contracts polio which prevents her from ever dancing again. Tanaquil le Clercq has to figure out who she is both in the world and in particular to her husband. To her credit director, does not allow the larger than life George Balanchine and his world to suck up the screen. When a dancer can no longer dance, particularly at the peak of her career, her whole identity is challenged. This lovely work looks at how she adjusts or doesn't.  For any high art viewer, it is also an intimate look at the world of dance when Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Tanaquil's best friend, ruled. Maintaining a respectful tone, Buirski allows us to see a nuanced world of art and personal drama

Nancy Buirski talks about her film:


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