Dancing was something to be taken very seriously when engaged in and otherwise put out of mind.
The discipline that ballet requires is obsessive. And only the ones who dedicate their whole lives are able to make it. Your toenails fall off and you peel them away and then you're asked to dance again and keep smiling. I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer.
I've dedicated my life to competitive dancing, so I'd like to pass that on to others. You can't be half-hearted about competitive dancing, you have to be prepared to give your whole life over to it.
He was one of those earnest, persevering dancers--the kind that have taken twelve correspondence lessons.
I would rather be having a burger and beers with my mates but I can't do that when I know I've got to dance.
Since I was a kid, I've been a dancer, and, of course, I'll always be a dancer till the day I die.
Because we had no money when I was growing up, when I started dancing, I wasn't allowed to be frivolous - my mum made me go to every lesson because she was paying for it.
I wanted to be a dancer from when I was about nine or something like that and started ballet. I used to really like it and got into it and did it full time for a couple of years. I did a lot of ballet but I traded that in for acting when I was about 15.
I just want to continue to pursue dancing. I want to focus on making it out there and showing everybody my heart and soul through dance... and do it until I can't walk anymore.
Most dancers are less eccentric than driven. It starts young. When other kids are at the playground, we're in the studio, endlessly drilling jumps and adjusting our socks.
It definitely wasn't cool in junior high, when everyone else is trying out for cheerleading, to have a life consumed by ballet.
My dance classes were open to anybody, my only stipulation was that they had to come to the class every day.
I don't see myself going back to 'Strictly' as a professional in the same capacity as I started. But I'll definitely keep dancing.
In order to dance professionally, you have to start at a young age. No matter what, your muscle structure and your bones have to be groomed from a very young age. Nobody wakes up at 17 and decides to become a ballet dancer.
I used to love ballet and I did it really, really intensely. But it came so much about achieving physical perfection, which when I was 14 was a big deal.
I decided to go to dance school at 22, which is late for a dancer.
