Chris Kamara Quotes

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.

When I did 'Dancing With the Stars,' everyone in Hollywood was saying I had too much muscle.

If all goes well and my body reacts well, and I feel I have a good high level to compete amongst the best then I'll come back and play.

Sports life is very short.

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

I have great admiration for athletes. They are just like actors in a lot of ways. They have tremendous pressures and conflicts. They have to compete, and they can't stay home just because they have a head cold.

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.

I don't get grumpy at a 'Strictly' level, you understand. We're just making a television show - the person I'm dancing with can't dance; they're doing their best, and we're not going to win the World Championships.

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.

I'm obviously always interested in the dancer who's an athlete and vice versa. I expect dancers to be in condition like an athlete is and to challenge themselves in the same way, to the same physical degree.

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.

During my first Olympics in 1980, at the age of 23, I was physically in great condition but mentally too inexperienced to cope comfortably in the pressure cooker of an Olympic year.

I was dancing on Broadway for many years. Then everyone was either getting injured or retiring, and I was dancing with younger dancers.

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.

I auditioned for 'West Side Story' just like everybody else, and I nearly had a heart attack, because I hadn't danced in about - oh, I don't know, about 15 years.

It's tough to play well - or not that well - when you're injured.

I agreed to be on 'Strictly Come Dancing' without watching the show. I got talked into it by my manager. And my God, I was crap at it.

I think the reason I hadn't fought was just the aftermath of the Botha fight. You put so much into a fight, and people just talk about it like it was a bit of a farce or something.

Triathletes can push themselves quite hard, and I have seen people collapse on a barrier or pass out on a bike.

I just take it one fight at a time. If I'm able to fight, and I'm still healthy enough, I'd like to fight. But I'll know when it's time to stop.

A life of a sportsperson is approximately 14-15 years long and fatigue will be a part of it, but they have to manage that.

My body had given up on me at one point. And as many injuries as I've had over the years, I truly believed that my body needed to rest and not be on the grind like it's been for the last 15 years.

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.

Every time an older player gets toward the end of their career, they're always talking about 'I feel better now than I did 10 years ago.'

There's certainly more chance of me winning 'Strictly' than having an affair with my dance partner, but you know, who knows?