She beat the happy
pavèment--
By such a star made
firmament,
Which now no more the roof envies!
But
swells up high, with
Atlas even,
Bearing the brighter, nobler heaven,
And, in her, all the deities.
Each step trod out a Lover's thought,
And the ambitious hopes he brought
Chain'd to her brave feet with such arts,
Such sweet command and gentle awe,
As, when she ceased, we sighing saw
The floor lay paved with broken hearts.
-- by Richard Lovelace (1618-1658). When I read the second stanza I am reminded of Sylvie Guillem, greatest and most moving dancer of our age: in her Juliet, her Manon, everything she does.