Quote

A lot of professional dancers become professional when they turn 15 or 16 years old, when they're still children. So you've trained every single waking moment up until that point for a career that could maybe only last 10 years, maybe longer if your body holds up, if your injuries are kept at bay.

If I had an extra 20 or 50 years physically, I could have been the dancer of my dreams. But I never became that dancer.

The retirement timing is always a tricky thing for a dancer. I think it's different for everyone. How you say goodbye to the thing you have really focused on that much is a tough one. I've always intended to leave in good shape, to exit on a high note.

I wish I'd become a professional dancer sooner. I did other jobs - like baking - while dancing part-time, and didn't commit until I was 29.

A dancer's career is short - you just keep going until your legs pack up.

There's no dancer alive better than those of the 1950s and 1960s. It's only the energy that changes. Every now and then, someone like me comes along, and people say, 'Oh, this guy is this new thing.' But that's not so. There is no me without them. The tradition just goes on.

I haven't danced since 1973; I'm too old.

You see, dancers are quite mature people because they start performing so early. They become professionals when they start to take everyday classes.

As you get older, the physical abilities decrease, which is particularly frustrating because your brain gets so good! So as you are becoming less technically or physically able, younger dancers are emerging who need the space to perform.