Zitat des Tages von Wendy Whelan:
I was so comfortable with my ballet power, my dancer power, that to have a voice, the comfort with having a voice, is slower to come to me.
There are many ways to lead a life. It would always be ideal to have a paycheck coming in. But I really love this fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants approach. It's scary and wonderful at the same time. I feel very open to many possibilities.
I look back, and I have no regrets, truly. Everything led me to the place where I am now.
So much is made about the beginnings of ballet careers, the rosebud, and then once the petals and leaves start falling off, is it beautiful anymore? Some people think it is; some people don't. The expectation is to focus on the very beautiful parts, not the ending.
Any time I've performed on one of the major stages, whether it be Covent Garden or the Paris Opera or the Bolshoi or the Mariinsky, those are really the top memorable moments for me.
Certain people have certain ways of focusing on things, and some arrange their lens to a pinhole in order to focus only on their goal. Others have a giant lens, and they take in the whole panorama. I was that pinhole kind of person.
I was dancing on Broadway for many years. Then everyone was either getting injured or retiring, and I was dancing with younger dancers.
As I aged and I got stronger artistically, I really started to value my voice in performance - my 'voice' meaning my body, my technique, and my style. Then I started to really feel that flower as well. That's when I started to feel like, 'Wow - now I understand what my beauty is.'
I really only had one audition in my life, and that was when I was 14 or 15. When I was that young, I listened to what my teachers would say, like wearing a certain kind of leotard that you'll be noticed in.
I've always felt like a different kind of ballerina.
I think the leotard for me became, after I retired, a sort of a symbol of the confines of still fitting into the ballet world in mind and body.
I always looked at the process and the career of being a ballerina as sacred. It's a true gift to have this talent and perform these masterworks; it's sublime.
I feel the ticking clock. And at times, I've said if I don't dance, I'd rather die.
I have a lot of energy, a lot of interest, a lot of desire.
You have to decide when it is time to move on.