Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov, nicknamed "Misha", is a Latvian-born 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDancer
Date of Birth27 January 1948
CityRiga, Latvia
CountryUnited States of America
I don't go to a gym, I don't do yoga. I don't do personal training.
When a dancer comes onstage, he is not just a blank slate that the choreographer has written on. Behind him he has all the decisions he has made in life Each time, he has chosen, and in what he is onstage, you see the result of those choices. You are looking at the person he is, and the person who, at this point, he cannot help but be Exceptional dancers, in my experience, are also exceptional people, people with an attitude toward life, a kind of quest, and an internal quality. They know who they are, and they show this to you, willingly.
When a body moves, it's the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I'll tell you who you are.
No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.
The more injuries you get, the smarter you get.
It doesn't matter how high you lift your leg. The technique is about transparency, simplicity, making an earnest attempt.
No one is born a dancer. You have to want it more than anything.
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.
We're trying to stretch our muscles creatively. It gives us so much more freedom.
I want to see people dance, and I would like to guess what kind of people they are. I don't want to know the recipe for their pasta.
I am not the first straight dancer or the last.
I don't drink milk, and I don't eat bread, pasta or rice. But I eat a lot of meat, chicken, fish and salads.
The problem is not making up the steps but deciding which ones to keep.
You don't measure life by receiving awards.