I have some Russian friends. But probably only 10 percent. I don’t hang out usually in the big Russian communities in Brooklyn and New Jersey. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
You open a section of ‘The New York Times,’ and there’s a review or a story on a choreographer or a dancer, and there’s an informative, clear image of a dancer. This is, in my view, not an interesting photograph. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
Your body actually reminds you about your age and your injuries – the body has a stronger memory than your mind. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
When I see people on the street, I look at how they walk. It’s like a signature, a fingerprint. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
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. – 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
I want to do exactly what I want to do. I’d rather gamble on the box office than beg for a grant. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
Nobody else in the world has a form like the Native American musical, and Americans should be very proud. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
I really reject that kind of comparison that says, Oh, he is the best. This is the second best. There is no such thing. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
Nothing is ever too expensive if it furthers the repertoire and artistic standards of a dance company. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
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. – 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
Astaire was not a sexual animal, but he made his partners look so extraordinarily related to him. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
I think art education, especially in this country, which government pretty much ignores, is so important for young people. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
You see, dancers are quite mature people because they start performing so early. They become professionals when they start to take everyday classes. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. – 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
No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
When I’m alone, I work sometimes with music, sometimes without and sometimes just listening to NPR. – Mikhail Baryshnikov
