I travel like a gypsy, and I didn't know how I could perform and be a mother.Collection: Travel
I don't keep my secrets or my knowledge to myself.Collection: Knowledge
Dancers, many dancers today can do so much technically. You can give them steps that are complicated, then more complicated, pyrotechnical - and they can execute these steps to perfection. But to do simple steps with a pure classical line, that is truly difficult.
People tell me I'm dancing better than ever. I don't know what happened, but I have new enthusiasm and more endurance.
It's not possible to be perfect - you can always do something better. I'm never proud of what I've done. Sometimes, I'm not ashamed.
I really feel sorry for new generation. It's hard to find backbone. I never had crisis of identity. But I think many Americans have it.
Technical things are getting more mechanical. Take 'Swan Lake,' the Black Swan pas de deux. Now, my goodness, they're turning not just 32 fouettes - but double or triple pirouettes.
I am different because I have better schooling, better understanding of the line, gesture, how feet working, positions. They taught me modern things... and I wanted to give what I had: my schooling.
Because my profession is the body, it is a relaxation for me to get out of physicality and concentrate on more mental things.
A real ballerina must fill her space with her own personality.Collection: Real
The expression should come from within oneself, conveying the spiritual - something between earth and heaven. And if one runs, one should not seem to touch the ground.Collection: Dance
It is the body, subject to the harmony of the steps it is executing, which speaks. And it speaks to the heart in as direct a language as does music.Collection: Heart
Dance involves physicality, it involves spirituality and even brains.Collection: Brain
Being spontaneous, it's what saved me.Collection: Spontaneous
What I am looking for is a masterpiece. I don't want to waste my time. I am tired of experiments.Collection: Tired
I was born to be a ballerina - my physique, my spirit, my feeling for music. What I am can only be expressed in dance. I am an erotic woman and that's what dance is.Collection: Dance
Usually, English personalities are difficult; they dont take criticism easily.Collection: Personality
I prepare myself very intensely. I am at the theatre four hours before the performance. It allows for complete concentration and preparation.Collection: Preparation
It’s hard to find backbone.I never had crisis of identity. But I think many Americans have it.Collection: Thinking