In my ballets, woman is first. Men are consorts. God made men to sing the praises of women. They are not equal to men: They are better.

The pointes for girls, I always say, have to be like an elephant's trunk; strong and yet flexible and soft.

Ballet will speak for itself. About itself.

Someone once said that dancers work just as hard as policeman, always alert, always tense. But I don't agree with that because policeman don't have to look beautiful at the same time.

The woman's function is to fascinate men.

The choreographer and the dancer must remember
that they reach the audience through the eye.
It's the illusion created which convinces the audience,
much as it is with the work of a magician.

Ballet dancing is arduous, strenuous activity. Students are engaged in physical training that rivals the training Olympic athletes undergo. At the same time, they strive for physical perfection not for the prowess alone but as a way of achieving the means necessary to express the pure nature of their art.