Mikhail Baryshnikov

I found that dance, music, and literature is how I made sense of the world... it pushed me to think of things bigger than life's daily routines... to think beyond what is immediate or convenient.

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 miss horribly those couple of hours before the performance when you get into the theater and you see people.

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.

There comes a moment in a young artist's life when he knows he has to bring something to the stage from within himself. He has to put in something in order to be able to take something.

Dancing is my obsession. My life.

If your only dance experience is the Nutcracker, it will be a shock; hopefully shocking in a good way.

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

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.

My life has been immensely enriched by gay mentors, colleagues and friends, and any discrimination and persecution of gay people is unacceptable.

Be. Good. To yourself, to other people, to everything you do. It's a norm of life by which people should try to live. Don't waste time. Be interesting and interested.

What do dancers think of Fred Astaire? It's no secret. We hate him. He gives us a complex because he's too perfect. His perfection is an absurdity. It's too hard to face.

Perfection is a theory. You cannot be a perfect human being, perfect artist. You cannot be a perfect husband, you cannot be a perfect father probably and probably I am not. But go through your daily routine with hope you will be a little better in all respects, and do something meaningful

You see, dancers are quite mature people because they start performing so early. They become professionals when they start to take everyday classes.

Every ballet, whether or not successful artistically or with the public, has given me something important.