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I absolutely fell in love with Moscow. It's one of those places where you can't help but trip over history at every turn. It's a city of enormous contradictions. Within a few yards of Lenin's Tomb is some of the most expensive shopping in the world.

I have no plans to have any other home than Moscow. However, I love to travel, and I'm very comfortable in New York. In many ways, it reminds me of Moscow in its energy and drive.

I first came to Russia because of the culture, literature and music... and my interest in the 19th-century revolutionary spirit of Herzen, Bakunin and Kropotkin. Russia is a wonderful place to bring new clowns because Russians give back a wonderful response.

I didn't choose Russia but Russia chose me. I had been fascinated from an early age by the culture, the language, the literature and the history to the place.

I do not like Moscow life. You live here not as you want to live, but as old women want you to.

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.

My biggest entertainment in Moscow was to go to the subway and watch people. When American students visited, I watched them; I learned English from them.

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.

I'm not talking about Russia in my music. I've never been to Russia. I'm not talking about Africa, Switzerland, China. I'm talking about me being American and growing up in a crazy world and helping to reflect all different sides of life.