Top 45 Sergei Polunin Quotes

For an artist it is important to show what your mood is at that particular moment.

I always hoped I would be injured so I didn’t have to dance any more.

I want to do as much as I can.

I got the same recognition in Russia in one week that I got in London after five years.

I went and got a tattoo of James Dean on my shoulder without actually seeing him in any movies.

When I became a principal at the Royal Ballet it was my childhood goal, a dream and I became it at 19. And then I said ‘what’s next?’ and I set myself a different goal at 19 to become an actor.

It’s not about being modern or classical or about being sexy: it’s all about exchanging energies with the audience.

I want to make people happy. I love kids and I want to help kids. And tigers.

When I left The Royal Ballet, I didn’t have anybody to talk to.

There’s no agents or managers to represent them. Dancers don’t have any voice. They have nothing. Nobody can afford a flat to live in. They have to share to be able to survive. In a place like the Royal Ballet, that shouldn’t happen.

It’s not being bad; it’s about trying to find yourself. It’s strange how people take you.

Being a ballet dancer isn’t cool. Football, boxing, hockey… they’re cool. And you make more money.

I didn’t want people to think I’m a dancer. I’m much more. I’m a human being.

I never wanted to be a good example.

Some of my friends were going to dancing school and, when one of them was auditioning for a ballet school in Kiev, my mother saw an opportunity for me to do that, so we could move to a bigger, better city.

The most amazing feeling in the world is destroying. It takes so much strength and patience and time to build, and destruction is fast, fast, fast. Explosive.

For artists to feel a real emotion to your partner is very important.

I’m on good terms with Kevin O’Hare.

In England, ballet is kind of closed. They are opening up a little bit, but it was always something not for the general public. So you don’t get fame, like a football star or a film star. And if you don’t get fame, you can’t do other stuff.

I never had any freedom – over my whole life, there had always been people telling me what to do. And when I did finally get that freedom I had no idea what to do with it – that was something I hadn’t been trained for.

I love movies and there’s something close to me about James Dean – I always wanted to do choreography on him.

In my head I want to do dancing as a hobby. I don’t want it to be my job. I want to do it as a joy, not having to do not-very-good galas just to make my living.

The problem was I didn’t have a mentor. Nobody ever sat me down and said, ‘That’s how life is. You’re going to have trouble here or there.’

I do get depressed sometimes, I don’t know why. It’s since I was a kid and it’s just part of my personality.

I wake up and I do class straight away, so that gives me a free day to do things.

I always wanted to become an artist who unites things.

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

Art and war are opposites, so our goal as an artist is to build and create, not destroy.

The Royal Ballet was good to me. They gave me everything I asked for. It’s just… I felt tricked. I became a principal and I couldn’t even afford to pay for dinner. I couldn’t afford a flat.

The bad press started to play a big part in how people perceived me, and I started playing on that too, which was a big mistake.

I would have liked to behave badly, to play football. I loved sport. But all my family were working for me to succeed.

The ballet world is so competitive, and for no reason. It’s not a sport. It’s an art. There’s no winner.

Whoever thought of making ballet? I mean, what is it? It’s so alien. You just look at people’s behavior as well – people trying to show off on stage and people clapping.

I don’t have time to party; I’m always on the plane.

Sometimes I don’t eat all day, then have four meals between 8 P. M. and 4 A. M.

It’s true that I got a bit lost. But that was because I had grown up in a system where I never made my own decisions.

I started watching movies more carefully, watching actors – the way they act, the way the movie is filmed, just as a hobby in a way, but also something to progress to maybe in the future.

In the beginning, I was very passionate about it, I loved it. It wasn’t until I actually reached the top that I became despondent. I felt like I was betrayed, betrayed by my family, my school. I felt very angry about the whole thing. You spend 12 hours a day, dancing, and then what?

I wanted to go into film. But the press attention stopped me.

I am very thankful to the Royal Albert Hall for the opportunity to dance here; it’s been a long hope of mine.

It is different in Russia. Here there is a television channel devoted to opera and dance.

You know when you believe in Christmas? I was like that with ballet. I thought I would reach a level where I’d have enough money to bring my family back together, and I would have freedom.

If you just stay still and don’t create, you die as an artist.

To think is to create and that’s what’s most important.

I’d always been one of the best in my gymnastics school, so I transferred to trying to be the best dancer, without knowing anything about ballet. I learned it as a routine.