He [Astaire] was not a sexual animal, but he made his partners look so extraordinarily related to him.
Mikhail BaryshnikovWhat do dancers think of Fred Astaire? It's no secret. We hate him. He gives us a complex because he's too perfect. His perfection is an absurdity. It's too hard to face.
Mikhail BaryshnikovYou invest into the future, and that's how young people become human in best sense of it - through the great experience of listening a Mรผller symphony or to see a great play by Tennessee Williams, experience something in a ballet, in a film.
Mikhail BaryshnikovYou see, dancers are quite mature people because they start performing so early. They become professionals when they start to take everyday classes.
Mikhail BaryshnikovI fell in love with New York. It was like every human being, like any relationship. When I was a young New Yorker, it was one city. When I was a grown man, it was another city. I worked with many dance organizations and many wonderful people. In the '90s, it became kind of a hard and unwelcoming city in many ways. It became conservative, like the whole country.
Mikhail Baryshnikov