Mikhail Baryshnikov quotes - page 2

Mikhail Baryshnikov is a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor, widely regarded as one of the greatest ballet artists in history. His remarkable technique and artistry brought him international recognition and acclaim in both classical and modern dance. He continues to inspire generations of dancers and artists around the world. Here are 76 of his quotes:

I get speeding ticket like everybody else. If the restaurant is full I'm waiting in line like everybody else.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

People of art should never get married and have children, because it's a selfish experience.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

You cannot be happy with your family while being personally unhappy with your work. It's a Catch-22 kind of thing.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

I have been very lucky to work in so many new ballets, but that is what a dancer's work is.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

The body cannot lie. You cannot be somebody else onstage, no matter how good of an actor or dancer or singer you are. When you open your arms, move your finger, the audience knows who you are, you know.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

The problem is not making up the steps but deciding which ones to keep.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

You ask me what's happened in my life, why and how I did this and that. And I think and tell, but it's never true story, because everything is so much more complicated, and also I can't even remember how things happened. Whole process is boring. Also false, but mostly boring.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

My father was a Party member and he was a pretty high rank military officer under the colonel, junior colonel, I don't know the term. He was a total Stalinist. A bit with a streak of anti-Semitism and very shrewd man, a very kind of nervous man.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

I am teaching more. That is what I do best.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

My mother had a son from previous marriage and her husband died in Second World War.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Nobody is born a dancer.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

I am not trying to do material which I cannot do full out.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

I never liked dance photography; it's very flat, and dance photography in the studio looks very contrived.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

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

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Your body actually reminds you about your age and your injuries - the body has a stronger memory than your mind.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Although I don't gamble in life - I've never played poker - I do gamble on stage. I gamble with myself: 'Can I do this?'

Mikhail Baryshnikov

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.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

I cannot stand authority.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

We lived, until I was 12 or so, in communal apartment with five different families and the same kitchen, in two little - my brother and me and my parents. It was hell, but it was a common thing. My father was not general or admiral, but he was colonel. He was teaching in military academy military topography.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

People dance at any age.

Mikhail Baryshnikov

When a body moves, it's the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I'll tell you who you are.

Mikhail Baryshnikov