... Each Action Taken In This World

Classical Virtuosity Is More Than Technique, Line, Proportion, And Balance. It Is As If The Performer And Spectator Come Together To Hold In Their Hands A Bird With A Broken Wing. The Creature Can Be Felt To Stir, To Struggle For Freedom. Its Life Responds To Human Warmth; Its Wing Might Brush Your Check As It Flies Away.

At This Stage Of My Life I Would Rather Try And Have Some Small Impact Within A Company And Suffer Through Those Things Than Make Such A Big Stink That Nobody Can Trust To Work With You. It's Very Important In An Environment Of A Big Institution That People Don't Feel Threatened That You're Going To Expose Them In Any Way.

You've Got To Break Through This Idea Of Being Light As A Ballerina. The Heavier You'll Feel, The Lighter You'll Look.

The Nature Of My Compulsion Was Such That I Danced In My Sleep. The Entire Household Was Sometimes Awakened By Loud Thumping Sounds Coming From My Room.

The First Year With Abt I Learned 13 New Roles. Most Were Lengthy Ballets, More Complicated Than I Was Used To. I Have Suffered From Tendinitis Since I Was 13, And It Flared Up Again Until The Pain Was Paralyzing. There Were Times I Prayed I'd Be Sick So I Wouldn't Have To Go On.