Darcey Bussell Quotes

The thing about ballet that I never knew about is that it's one of the most excruciating sports that I've ever been a part of. I say sports because they train constantly, every single day.

Certainly the life of a dancer is very difficult. The training is very hard and relentlessly grueling.

When I initially committed to joining 'Dancing with the Stars,' I didn't realize just how physically demanding it would be for me. Unable to put forth my best effort, I felt it appropriate to step aside and give someone else the opportunity.

Being a ballerina can be a very unnatural life, especially after you've had children.

When you're really serious about ballet, it's a job - even if you're 15 years old. You're doing it six to eight hours a day.

Dancers are working their bodies just like a marathon runner would, and you have to eat to make it through a three-hour performance. Dancers put their bodies through incredible strain.

The prima ballerinas who taught me were far more scary than Gordon Ramsay. They'd scream at me and pull my legs and arms, so after them Gordon was a piece of cake.

Dance has never been a particularly easy life, and everybody knows that.

A dancer's life is hard - it is so physically demanding, and at any moment, you could have an injury that could end your career.

How little the public realizes what a girl must go through before she finally appears before the spotlight that is thrown upon the stage.

The first year with ABT I learned 13 new roles. Most were lengthy ballets, more complicated than I was used to. I have suffered from tendinitis since I was 13, and it flared up again until the pain was paralyzing. There were times I prayed I'd be sick so I wouldn't have to go on.

Even if you see a great performance, it's not always great getting there. There are injuries... Intrinsically or unconsciously, people understand that - people see those performances, and they know there are stories behind that.

Every role I get is always a challenge. I can read a script and say, 'Oh, I can do that!' and then when I start working on it, I suddenly realize that I had no idea what I was getting into. Then I have to really work hard!

The twenty minutes or more we spend inside the ring, that's the fun part. It's the rest of our lives that's the real battle - the ruthless backstage politics, the constant traveling, the endless mental and physical aches and pains.

I want people to know that it's not always dandelions and roses when you're doing something like 'Aladdin.'

It's an amazing life, don't get me wrong. But being a professional athlete, is… is not as glamorous as everybody sets it out to be.

To play this position you have to have durability.

Football is very hard, and people see only the nice part of the job.

There have been times when I booked out a dance studio and I've tried to choreograph in there and suddenly I feel like I have no creativity.

Most athletes get intimidated once they see how many fans are out there, but it almost calms me down in a way because I think of it as a fun way to show off what I've been working on.

There's so much that goes into being a pro athlete that people have no idea about.

If you can make it in Rockford, you can make it anywhere.

I think college tennis makes you tough.

Every time you step out on that field, it's tough. There is no easy way to approach it and no short cuts out there.

I don't do much relaxing. When I'm not giving a recital I practise.