Ballet is like football. I don't understand a footballer's technique but I can see when he's playing brilliantly. People don't like ballet because they think they don't understand it. Actually they do. It's the most primitive form of appeal.
Robert HelpmannI don't despair about the cultural scene in Australia because there isn't one to despair about.
Robert HelpmannAren't all ballets sexy? I think they should be. I can think of nothing more kinky than a prince chasing a swan around all night.
Robert HelpmannPeople often say to me - how clever you are! How brilliant to be able to go from ballet to theatre as you do. I answer that it is not clever at all. It is the gift of looking at oneself coolly, of calculating the future objectively. I could see the danger signals as far as ballet was concerned before anyone else did, that's all.
Robert Helpmann