I have some Russian friends. But probably only 10 percent. I don't hang out usually in the big Russian communities in Brooklyn and New Jersey.

People of art should never get married and have children, because it's a selfish experience.

I feel very uneasy with a lot of aspects of the Russian life and the Russian people.

I think art education, especially in this country, which government pretty much ignores, is so important for young people.

I - you know, I'm not an actor.

I want to do exactly what I want to do. I'd rather gamble on the box office than beg for a grant.

I'm a news junkie.

I adored my mother, and I will always have extraordinary memories about her and remember her, and she opened the doors for me to appreciate arts.

I cannot stand authority.

When I see people on the street, I look at how they walk. It's like a signature, a fingerprint.

I found that dance, music, and literature is how I made sense of the world... it pushed me to think of things bigger than life's daily routines... to think beyond what is immediate or convenient.

I am a performer. I go on stage and make a fool of myself.

The body cannot lie. You cannot be somebody else onstage, no matter how good of an actor or dancer or singer you are. When you open your arms, move your finger, the audience knows who you are, you know.

Dance is one of the most revealing art forms.

It's what's left in life, to work with interesting people.

The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

Soviet regime in a way deprived me from my childhood in my homeland, because my father was in military, and after the Yalta agreement he was sent to teach in military academy in Riga, and I was born then.

People dance at any age.

Dancers are made, not born.

When a body moves, it's the most revealing thing. Dance for me a minute, and I'll tell you who you are.

The more injuries you get, the smarter you get.

No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business.

I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.

Songs are here to help us: they build bridges from heart to heart.