Because of the way I'm built, I constantly have to strengthen. This is sort of a ritual: I put on my tights first, and right when I'm about to put on my costume, I get down on the floor, and I plank.
David Hallberg
Many dancers are content with the repertoire they're given. Others are dissatisfied but don't know why. Then there are a few like me that are curious and grab at everything. Can that curiosity thrive in the ballet world, or should it exist elsewhere? That's the eternal question.
I love the dancers in the Bolshoi, but all of my Moscow friends are outside the company. A friend introduced me to Vika Gazinskaya, a well-known Russian designer. I met her group. The rest is history.
When stress sets in, and pressure, I focus.
New York at times runs me dry because there's so much to do. There's never enough time to do everything. It's nice to have the balance in Moscow.
Russians are very discerning about ballet. They're very opinionated about what classical ballet is.
Every company has its own texture, vocabulary, and singular place in dance history, and I have always wanted to share my perspective of these world renowned institutions.
Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.
I sew my own shoes. Other male dancers don't, but I like it one way, and I've learned to do it that way.
I walk like a duck: very straight up and down. Or like a penguin. It's a dead giveaway that I'm a dancer.
When I went to Moscow, I felt I was relearning Swan Lake - which was written for the Bolshoi - and being immersed in a tradition and history I had never experienced. It took a while to adjust to living there and learning the language, but now I have lots of friends. I get the best of two completely different worlds.
Ballet is incestuous. This world is smaller than small.
Bejart is almost never performed in New York City; critically, he just gets attacked here.
I stopped acting Romeo and just became Romeo.
The Bolshoi style is bigger and more emotional, in a way that I love. It has the freshness and intensity that is like what I've tried to achieve in my dance-acting roles.
I'm not one who goes to a lot of fashion shows or tries to infiltrate that world, really.
I've been interested in art and fashion for as long as I can remember because they are so visual. I am fascinated by the idea of visual creation from the ground up, which is a challenge in ballet when the audience has seen every show of yours, every other principal that you've shared a role with, and every different production.
I've always questioned the way dancers, myself included, must do the same role year in and year out. It's important for me to be able to say to myself, 'O.K., I don't want to be a prince anymore. I want to put on a leather jockstrap and pose.'
No one around me was obsessed with Fred Astaire except for me. It just snowballed, really. I started with tap lessons. When I didn't have tap shoes, I taped nickels on the bottom of my penny loafers.
If I can relay anything, it's that if someone has a dream, and it isn't the norm of what others are doing around you, it doesn't matter. Reach for it. Go for it - because I'm a shining example of that.
I have one coach and one coach only. His name is Alexander Vetrov. They brought him in for me when I joined the Bolshoi. He was a dancer with the Bolshoi, and we work very intensely together.
Certainly, when you train as a classical dancer, you are very much influenced by 'Giselle.' You see it all the time; you start to learn the steps a little.
To be honest, my partner Natasha is my inspiration. She is who I reference when searching for my role. I don't emulate what she does, but her interpretation of Giselle is so fragile and sensitive and so tender. It constantly inspires me. And I feel like it's the other way around. We have a great rapport together.
There are certainly some artists in New York that I would love to work with. One is Sarah Michelson.
I think I'm the same dancer everywhere. But I've learned a lot with Bolshoi - the history of the theater, the technique of the theater, different nuances in my technique.
With Bolshoi technique, the movements are quite large, the jumps are big, and I'm a tall dancer, so I've learned to use my height more, to elongate my moves, jumps and positions. I'm physically using my body more to my advantage.
Ballet is certainly appreciated in New York, but it has been a part of the Russian culture, history and heritage for hundreds of years, so it's much more instilled in the Russian blood.
Ballet needs figures that people can recognize and relate to. People don't know ballet dancers as well as they know other artists.
Having done so many versions, I never felt like an artist in 'Swan Lake.'
I will never stop questioning. I will never stop wanting more and discovering other things and wanting to do other things. That will always be a part of me, and it's something I've come to terms with.
I'll never be satisfied in classical ballet. It'll never be good enough. I'll never be happy with most of my product.
