Mikhail Baryshnikov Quotes

Mikhail Baryshnikov — American Dancer born on January 27, 1948,

Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov, nicknamed "Misha", is a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor born in the Soviet Union, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers in history. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance. After freelancing with many companies, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine's style of movement. He then danced with the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director... (wikipedia)

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.

I cannot belong to a nonprofit organization because when you receive grants, you have to make such great compromises with your artistic plans.

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

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 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.

Mikhail Baryshnikov Quotes

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