I think it's going to be the most difficult thing to do, to leave the stage. But if you have no lucidity about it, it's even worse because you don't see the negative side of you still being onstage. Sylvie Guillem More Quotes by Sylvie Guillem More Quotes From Sylvie Guillem Having limits to push against is how you find out what you can do. I have always been full of contradictions. I am shy but I love the freedom of the stage. I need reassurance but at the same time I don’t want it. I hate being afraid but I can’t help wanting to frighten myself. That is how you grow. Sylvie Guillem shyhateneeds Having limits to push against is how you find out what you can do. Sylvie Guillem perseverancewomeninspirational Technical perfection is insufficient. It is an orphan without the true soul of the dancer. Sylvie Guillem dancingdanceperfection I just know that when I go onstage, I give everything I have, not only my feet, not only my legs, not only my body. I try to tell a story. Sometimes I am able to cry because I feel like it. Sometimes I am able to love because I feel like it. Sylvie Guillem dancefeetlove-is No, dance is not a monster. The stage is monstrous, not in the negative sense but on the grandiose side. And dance is sacred as something emotionally strong happens. Sylvie Guillem strongmonstersnegative My body is very nice to me. I have a lucky physique - I just don't take weight on. Sylvie Guillem niceluckweight When I was very young I was very shy but at the same time I was very open cause I was very curious so I wanted to try many things. Sylvie Guillem shycausestrying I love nature like nothing else. Before I moved to Switzerland, my home was a flat in London with a garden. In those snatched moments away from dance, I did typical weekend things like pruning, planting, and weeding. I planted fruit trees and even had a vegetable garden, but I wasn't around enough, so it was a disaster. Sylvie Guillem dancenaturehomelove I have learned a great deal from the theatrical side of Covent Garden. The Paris Opera Ballet is more concerned with technique. It's perfect. It's beautiful. It's well done. But it lacks the theatrical tradition that is so important in England. At the Royal Ballet, absolutely everyone on stage seems to be caught up in the plot. Sylvie Guillem greattraditiongardenbeautiful A drop of water can't stop a fire alone. But a drop of water, plus another one, plus another one, then you have the rain, and the rain can stop the fire. Sylvie Guillem aloneyourainwater Working with a new style of choreography is always a period of adaptation. Sylvie Guillem workingnewalwaysstyle Terrorism is not a small problem. Sylvie Guillem smallterrorismproblem Walking in the mountains helps me unwind, but it also reminds me in a painful way that the real beauty in life is nature and animals, and that the human race, in all its arrogance, is intent on destroying it. Sylvie Guillem menaturebeautylife For someone like me, who as a kid could not have two people in front of me without wanting to hide, to end up on stage with a lot of people in front of me, feeling good, it has to be a strange and special place. Sylvie Guillem feelinggoodmepeople One has to learn to say, 'Wait, there is a pain that is not logical. I will do a scan, and if there is something serious, I will stop immediately.' If the body sends a message, you have to listen to it. Sylvie Guillem waityoupainserious If you are afraid of losing something, then you are dependent on it. If you are not afraid, then you are free. Sylvie Guillem somethingfreeyoulosing I like creation even if the process is always a bit difficult. Sylvie Guillem alwaysdifficultcreationprocess I do not want an animal to die for me. Sylvie Guillem diemewantanimal When you start, you have no brain; you are a kid. It's fine. But then I started to be scared. I was scared of judgment - not as a dancer, but as a person - and I was really uncomfortable with people. And it lasted for a very long time. Sylvie Guillem youtimelongpeople People thought I had no feelings, that I was hard. But really, I was extremely sensitive to everything. Sylvie Guillem everythingthoughtfeelingspeople
