generosity

On her famous extensions and her legacy

I don't think I changed the way people look at ballet. Lifting my leg very high, that was the easy part, and a lot of dancers were lifting their legs high before me. If that's all I did for dance, my God. Long legs and extreme suppleness is not what changes dance. What matters is touching an audience, when you bring something close to truth on stage, something close to generosity to the characters you are playing. These women – Manon, Marguerite – they are so deep and so complex, musically, intellectually and emotionally, and all of that should always be there. My goal was always to give everything I had.

Sylvie GuillemInterview with Debra Craine, The Times, 5 December 2014

audiencegenerositytechniquetruth

I don’t think I changed the way people look at ballet. Lifting my leg very high, that was the easy part, and a lot of dancers were lifting their legs high before me. If that’s all I did for dance, my God. Long legs and extreme suppleness is not what changes dance. What matters is touching an audience, when you bring something close to truth on stage, something close to generosity to the characters you are playing. These women – Manon, Marguerite – they are so deep and so complex, musically, intellectually and emotionally, and all of that should always be there. My goal was always to give everything I had.

Sylvie GuillemInterview with Debra Craine, The Times, 5 December 2014

audiencegenerosityinterpretationtechniquetruth