On Japaneses' love to ballet, Kylian and Bejart:
"Of course there is a section of the audience that likes the tutu and the glittery things that the West brought, which was completely the opposite of what they did. For them, it is more a sensitivity to shadows, they prefer the refined. I think they were very attracted at the beginning when we put gold and jewels under the light, because it was the opposite of what they are, but then gradually they discovered things that speak more to them. I think that’s why they liked Maurice Béjart a lot, certain dance pieces of his that were more graphic, that used the imagination, the Buddhist way of approaching things - not like, say, here’s The Sleeping Beauty, here is gold, costumes, story, easy access. And they like Jiri Kylian... oh, I know I shouldn’t talk about Kylian here because all the critics hate Kylian! And they hate Béjart here! But I think the Japanese are touched by that kind of thing, they can see the poetry in it, the esthétisme, the very touching relationship between the choreography and music. And they started to change, to evolve their taste away from the classical Western style."
About be born to "attract people" (for me = be dancer):
"Did you ever feel as a kid that you attracted people? Or did you work at it?
Non, you can’t work at it. You can’t... It isn't fair, in a way."
Camera and estheticism:
"Of course the esthétisme must be respected, because it’s something I have worked really hard for a long time to present. It would be stupid of me to let out a picture that goes completely against all the work I've done off stage. And the quality of the picture is important - what we do is very visual so I’ve learned to become quite critical. It’s also a matter of respect, what do you decide to publish? Sometimes you can do better.
So it’s not a question of vanity.
It’s a question of truth. Of what is reality, what is there. When somebody's taking a picture of me there is always a question mark between me and them because I don’t know, I have some fear, I have some doubt, and it will show. When I take self-portraits I know exactly who I see there, and when I press the button what the picture will be. And that makes a huge, huge difference.
It is not just about being a pretty face, which I am not, non, or otherwise I would be a model and I am not a model. I have a lot of things about me that I don’t like, and I can see that in a picture. So it isn’t about the picture being always nice, even aesthetically. Mainly it’s about the life in the picture. There is life, or there is not. It is a real picture, or it is not."
Understanding dance (is'n it critics' fault that they scared people so long?)
{"I wonder if it’s that dance has become frightening to people. The press releases now say that you need three science A levels to understand it, or a degree in comparative philosophy.
Just heart.
Yes, feelings, a heart, eyes. But I think the amount of work involved in dance also frightens people now. They don’t understand that this [I point at her foot] didn’t come in 15 months' quick study.
That’s for sure. And the pride, the pride of working well. This they have in Japan. They are so proud of what they do. Whether it’s something glamorous, or economically phenomenal, or sweeping the floor, they’ll do it well - they take a personal pride in it."
Q&A Special: Ballerina Sylvie Guillem | Dance | The Arts Desk