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.
I have one coach and one coach only. His name is Alexander Vetrov. They brought him in for me when I joined the Bolshoi. He was a dancer with the Bolshoi, and we work very intensely together.
If mutual fund directors are independent, then I'm the lead character in the Bolshoi Ballet.
Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.
With Bolshoi technique, the movements are quite large, the jumps are big, and I'm a tall dancer, so I've learned to use my height more, to elongate my moves, jumps and positions. I'm physically using my body more to my advantage.
If I had to reflect on the finest classical male ballet dancers of my time, Vladimir Vasiliev of the Bolshoi and the Danish dancer Eric Bruhn were, I feel, without peer.
The mysteries and scandals of the Kremlin are nothing compared to the mysteries and scandals of the Bolshoi.
I love the dancers in the Bolshoi, but all of my Moscow friends are outside the company. A friend introduced me to Vika Gazinskaya, a well-known Russian designer. I met her group. The rest is history.
