When I hung up my toe shoes, I didn't look back. In all my years, I have never looked back.
When you're a star, critics can't make or break you.
Mr. Balanchine wanted me to be myself. He didn't want me to look like anyone else. I love teaching our company dancers the Balanchine ballets. I try to give them what was passed down to me and what I learned from him. They dance it so beautifully. It also keeps me close to Mr. Balanchine. He's with me every single day.
I've had an extraordinary life as a dancer. You tour the world, you see all the great capitals of the world, the beautiful old opera houses all over Europe - you go everywhere. As a teenager, I would always say, 'I can't believe this is happening to little me,' because it was always a dream to dance.
I am just so thankful that my mom was a fantastic mom. She wasn't a stage mother; she didn't push me. She was happy if I was happy. We are so different. I was very shy; my mom did all the talking. She was my strength. She never expected that I would be this ballerina.
My daughter arrived when I was five months pregnant with my son. We adopted Melanie from Korea; she was 2 years old, almost 3. I always wanted to have a family. I had a good example because Melissa Hayden was a ballerina in our company, and she had two children and danced afterward, and Allegra Kent also did.
When you dance, it takes a lot of stamina, but it never seemed like work 'cause I was doing something that I so loved doing. It was always a joy. And you know, to have beautiful ballets made specially for you is such an honor. I always said it was better than diamonds.
Conrad Ludlow was an extraordinary partner... We just called him the greatest partner because he just knew what a woman's balance was.
I have such respect for... the Kennedy Center Honors. To be an artist in America and to be honored for it is extraordinary. In Europe, they really honor their artists. And you are on a very high level. And here it's not as revered as it is in Europe or Russia or anywhere in the world.
I cherish the ballets made for myself by Mr. Balanchine. He never lost his temper. He was quiet, humble, the genius of the 20th century.
In the beginning, he taught you how to hold your fingers, use your head, hold your shoulders, how you glissade, bourre - the exact way he wanted you to do the steps. It was relearning the whole Balanchine technique.
It was extraordinary 'cause I was 17 years old when I first danced with Edward Villella. And we were both young. But I had seen him dance, and he was already a star. So he was just so gentle and wonderful and kind, and we had a great rapport together. He was one of the most exciting dancers of our day.
Breathe through your movements.
I always had an inferiority complex, like I wasn't good enough. I was shy. But dancing gave me so much joy, and I was good at it. I felt like a whole person because I could dance.
I felt that Balanchine was my father towards me. He was the person I most admired and looked up to.
I was determined to dance. That's why I lasted so long.
Most ballets are more interesting than most men.
I used to say I didn't want to teach. I was still excited about dancing. It's hard to do both. It's as exhausting teaching as it is to dance.
I want to be happy, to look back and feel I danced well at the end of my career and didn't dwindle off. It would be too sad.
I danced with Jacques d'Amboise. At that time, he was the tallest man in the company. So it was a different kind of choreography. It was lyrical.
