I was afraid when I came to the Royal Ballet that it would be easy to have everyone walking all over me if I didn't stick up for myself.
Sylvie Guillem
When I watch dance, most of the time I just see a potential that is not there at all. I just see they missed the point. They just give us a tiny bit of what it could be.
No one person can change the world, but one and one and one add up.
If we keep on destroying fish, there won't be any left. If the oceans die, we all die. It's as simple as that.
Working with a new style of choreography is always a period of adaptation.
If you are afraid of losing something, then you are dependent on it. If you are not afraid, then you are free.
On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love every day, but on stage, you can.
My mother really pushed me when I was young. I didn't want to go to dance classes, but for some reason, when I was there, I didn't want to come back.
My father had the curved feet, my mother the legs, so I am a bit of both.
I like creation even if the process is always a bit difficult.
When I was 25, it was painful. I was getting out of bed in the morning and couldn't walk. But when you are young, you don't care; it will pass. But one year after another, it's like, 'Come on, give me a break!'
When a real artist creates something, it has to be a necessity, the only way he can say something.
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.
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.
Choreographers tend to treat ballet dancers like kids they can manipulate.
I work hard to make a gift to the audience.
The best times are when the time on stage becomes much slower and the movement much bigger - in that case, everything seems to flow. This state does not happen very often, but when it does, it is a magic kind of pleasure.
I was not happy with myself as a human being when I was very young - I was afraid of people; I was afraid of talking, I didn't know how to express myself other than by being on stage.
It's true I have a side of me that isn't very adult. I can get very emotional about things. I can become crazy, act the clown.
I cannot stand unfairness.
Things that make me angry and sad, I cannot hide. It's not because I want to be a rebel; it's my instinct. When something touches me deeply, I really have to react.
'Swan Lake' can be a nightmare. To make a 'Swan Lake' that is worth it, every single movement and breath has to be perfect. When you have an idea of 'Swan Lake' that is as high as that, it's almost impossible.
I never dreamt of becoming a ballerina. I was just curious about it, it was something to explore.
I would have loved to work with Cranko. I love stories. Even though I like a lot of style - Forsythe, Maliphant - I have this childish side that likes stories.
If I am out in the street or buying bread or taking a taxi, no one knows who I am.
I am a bit of a boss, even when it's about the composting. This goes here! This goes there! Don't do that! Maybe for the sake of others, I should let go a bit.
My reputation precedes me all the time, but I'm not the monster people think I am.
Between what I know I can do and want to achieve and what the audience expects, it's a lot of pressure, and it's always adding up.
As a child, I was afraid of everything. My parents were shy, the kind of people for whom it is an ordeal to go and buy some bread or whatever.
I am stronger as a vegan than I ever was with meat and dairy.
I am very interested in nature.
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.
If you start dancing too young, it can be torture. The bone is too soft, and it is going everywhere.
A performance is like a boat. You really want it to arrive at port. So when something goes wrong and it doesn't get there, that touches me a lot.
I am not a completely stubborn person. But I have views.
Dancers are not like movie actresses. People look at our bodies, not our faces. They only recognise me when I sign my name on something and they say, 'Ah yes, Sylvie.'
Animals feel pain and love and joy, just as humans. But in the industrialised meat, dairy, and egg industries, animals are denied everything that's natural and important to them. Some of them don't even feel the fresh air. They don't see the light.
Fate is like a train. When it flies past, you can choose if you want to get on it or not, to say no or say yes.
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.
When you are young, you can do anything, everything, and nothing at the same time. You don't have that kind of judgment; you just eat... like teenagers that need to feed. After a while, you know exactly what you are looking for, that sense of analysis comes to you when you start to use your brain.
I am only interested in being famous for my dancing. For me, the concept of the sacred monster is only about the stage - it is not about image.
As much as I love my work, I do appreciate my rare days off. Even then, I can't afford to let the dancing go. I need at least an hour just to keep in shape, so wherever I am in the world, I'll grab the door or the furniture and do some serious exercise.
I was born with a different physical capacity to other people.
I do not want an animal to die for me.
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.
People thought I had no feelings, that I was hard. But really, I was extremely sensitive to everything.
Most producers who want you to dance are not looking at the long term. They see their evenings, the box office, whom they have to repay, whatever.
While I enjoy it, I will continue to go onstage. While I contribute something, fine. I don't want to be dragging my feet. I don't want to become pathetic, but I think I will be lucid enough. I'll know when to stop.
I judge myself severely.
I am not nice. That has gotten me into a lot of trouble.
