Mikhail Baryshnikov

“To achieve some depth in your field requires a lot of sacrifices. Want to or not, you're thinking about what you're doing in life-in my case, dancing.”

“It's weird when you see pieces of choreography that were done for you 15 or 20 years ago and now they are being done by another dance company.”

“I was very restless. I really wanted to be a part of a kind of a progressive society. I was fed up with these Communist doctrines and you were hassled all the time with members of the Party committee who were KGB, what you have to do, where in the West you can go or not to go.”

“I don't see in myself any perfection.”

“Dances have a second and third life. You feel they are never ready. They always have a chance for another life.”

“I cannot draw to save my life, and I'm not a big art scholar, but I worked with many designers throughout my career - in theater, in dance, costume designers, set designers, and I have a lot of artist friends and I do photography, and I think it's kind of in my life.”

“No matter what I try to do or explore, my Kirov training, my expertise, and my background call me to return to dancing after all, because that's my real vocation, and I have to serve it.”

“I fell in love with New York. It was like every human being, like any relationship. When I was a young New Yorker, it was one city. When I was a grown man, it was another city. I worked with many dance organizations and many wonderful people.”

“I like to make my own mistakes.”

“I know when I am on stage and I'm kind of on the right track - hopefully most of the time. But a lot of time I'm not.”

“Nothing is ever too expensive if it furthers the repertoire and artistic standards of a dance company.”

“In opera tradition, when opera die-hard fans, there is a replacement of singer or singer wasn't at his or hers vocal best, doing something, they boo. Especially now that they pay hundreds of dollars for the ticket.”

“Obviously, the young dancers lack a certain air of maturity.”

“Your heart is very much connected to your mind.”