Le Clercq and Balanchine, International Hitchhikers

[carbro]

We received this query from a reader:

I just discoverd your website while searching for information about Tanaquil Le Clercq. I met her and Balanchine around 1952 when they hitchhiked in Switzerland and my father brought them home to our house in the Bernese mountains. They stayed with us for a while and then we brought them to the top of the Gotthard pass from where they continued hitchhiking to the South of Switzerland. We never knew who they were until the next year when my parents got free tickets to a performance of the New York City Ballet in Zuerich. Unfortunately, they could not afford to go and see the performance.

I was wondering how I could get more information so I could determine the exact year of this encounter.

Thanks in advance.

I'm also interested in any replies!

[Leigh Witchel]

I sent this on to Nancy Reynolds. She might know when he might have gone on that vacation - or know someone who does. From the narrative, it happened the year before the company performed in Zurich, and Balanchine married LeClerq at the end of '52.