Refraction Off An Interview With Wendy Whelan (Charlie Rose Show) Poem by Bill Grace

Madame, in Moscow we saw
The Bolshoi perform Giselle.
But Charley's cut of your work
Helped me to understand your husband's comment
That on stage and armed you are not
Back stage or even breakfast companion.

Proportion has been a gift
Compared to the beauty of your movement's grace
That defies this small thing called gravity
And makes this pen salute both your vision and your power.


*Wendy Whelan is the principal dancer of the New York City Ballet.