In 1956, the tall, lithe-limbed and strikingly beautiful French-born ballerina Tanaquil le Clercq was on tour with the New York City Ballet and husband George Balanchine in Copenhagen. It was there and then, at the tender age of 27 and at the very peak of her powers, promise, fortune and celebrity, that the dancer known as “Tanny” was diagnosed with polio. Left permanently paralyzed, she never walked — or danced — again.

Tanaquil first caught Balanchine’s eye at the age of 12, and was awarded a scholarship to the School of American Ballet. She grew into a willowy, commanding and stupendously graceful dancer and became Mr. B’s (as he was fondly known in the dance world) muse as well as his fourth and final wife. Her years dancing with the New York City Ballet and its precursor, the Ballet Society, were few. Yet during those precious ten years, she created 32 roles for Balanchine and for another galvanizing force of genius in the ballet world, Jerome Robbins.

Jerome Robbins decided that only Tanny could dance the solo he created for her in his ballet, “The Concert,” and removed it when she was no longer able.

Fortunately for Tanny, however, the supremely formidable spirit and drive that had propelled her to the pinnacle of the international dance world did not desert her when polio struck. Following her illness, she found a way to transmute her wit, sophistication, talent and je ne sais quoi into many worthwhile pursuits such as writing, publishing and photography. She was even known to coach budding ballerinas from her wheelchair, both at the Dance Theater of Harlem and at the New York City Ballet.

Balanchine eventually divorced le Clercq, leaving her for subsequent muse, ballerina Suzanne Farrell. He and Tanaquil remained great friends. There was one truly ominous and bizarre fact, however, that must surely have haunted the ballet master: In 1944, he’d choreographed a piece in which he’d played the part of a character named Polio, with none other than Tanaquil le Clercq dancing opposite him, in the role of his victim.