--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those…" description: "\"I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers, MacMillan and Ashton, they knew how to translate complicated life into choreography.\" — Sylvie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg" --- # I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers… ![“I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers, MacMillan and Ashton, they knew how to translate complicated life into choreography.” quote by Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg) > “I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers, MacMillan and Ashton, they knew how to translate complicated life into choreography.” [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great choreographers turn complex life experiences into expressive movement. **In simple terms:** Choreography can express life's complexities. Key Takeaway Study how movement conveys deep emotions. Themes dance art expression life complexity Mood inspirational artistic Type creative educational When to use this quote - creating new works - teaching dance - performance analysis Key Concepts choreography interpretation emotional storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can you embody a personal story through movement? - What emotions are hardest to express physically? A Different Perspective Not all life aspects translate easily to dance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Choreographers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choreographers/) [Complicated life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-life/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [The mystery of Christopher Wheeldon deepens. Yes, he's the most talented of the younger ballet choreographers - indeed, where's the competition? Yes, he's particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/the-mystery-of-christopher-wheeldon-deepens-yes-he-s-the-most/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [I was afraid when I came to the Royal Ballet that it would be easy to have everyone walking all over me if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-was-afraid-when-i-came-to-the-royal-ballet-that-it-would-be-easy-to/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Choreographers tend to treat ballet dancers like kids they can manipulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/choreographers-tend-to-treat-ballet-dancers-like-kids-they-can/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [The Royal Ballet was good to me. They gave me everything I asked for. It's just... I felt tricked. I became a principal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/the-royal-ballet-was-good-to-me-they-gave-me-everything-i-asked-for/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) > [I joined the Royal Ballet School when I was 13. Before then, I'd done ballet twice a week after school. The rest of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-bussell/i-joined-the-royal-ballet-school-when-i-was-13-before-then-i-d-done/) [Darcey Bussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-bussell/) > [One of the few things in dance to match the Royal Ballet's curtain calls is the Royal Ballet's dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barnes/one-of-the-few-things-in-dance-to-match-the-royal-ballet-s-curtain/) [Clive Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barnes/) > [I do take class because I still dance, and yes, I do slip into class with the Royal Ballet from time to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-do-take-class-because-i-still-dance-and-yes-i-do-slip-into-class/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [There's no agents or managers to represent them. Dancers don't have any voice. They have nothing. Nobody can afford a flat to live in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/there-s-no-agents-or-managers-to-represent-them-dancers-don-t-have/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) > [I'm so happy that I ventured out beyond the Royal Ballet - which is my home, and I love it - but I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-hayward/i-m-so-happy-that-i-ventured-out-beyond-the-royal-ballet-which-is-my/) [Francesca Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-hayward/) > [I have learned a great deal from the theatrical side of Covent Garden. The Paris Opera Ballet is more concerned with technique. It's perfect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-have-learned-a-great-deal-from-the-theatrical-side-of-covent-garden/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/when-i-miss-class-for-one-day-i-know-it-when-i-miss-class-for-two/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [We dance to difference genres such as krumping, ballet and hip-hop, together with invited foreign choreographers who are well-known internationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie/we-dance-to-difference-genres-such-as-krumping-ballet-and-hip-hop/) [Jennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie/) > [Some choreographers have been cautious about working with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/some-choreographers-have-been-cautious-about-working-with-me/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Dancing is a tough career, but I'm glad I spent it at the Royal Ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/dancing-is-a-tough-career-but-i-m-glad-i-spent-it-at-the-royal-ballet/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [When I left The Royal Ballet, I didn't have anybody to talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-polunin/when-i-left-the-royal-ballet-i-didn-t-have-anybody-to-talk-to/) [Sergei Polunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-polunin/) ## More by Sylvie Guillem > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Having limits to push against is how you find out what you can do. I have always been full of contradictions. I am shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/having-limits-to-push-against-is-how-you-find-out-what-you-can-do-i/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I've learned to listen to what's going on with my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-ve-learned-to-listen-to-what-s-going-on-with-my-body/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I can't have friends in every port. I have to work very hard and be very clear about what I want to do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-can-t-have-friends-in-every-port-i-have-to-work-very-hard-and-be/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Ballet is hard enough when you go with it; when you have to force your body to do things, it is so much harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/ballet-is-hard-enough-when-you-go-with-it-when-you-have-to-force-your/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Terrorism is not a small problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/terrorism-is-not-a-small-problem/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [If you start dancing too young, it can be torture. The bone is too soft, and it is going everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/if-you-start-dancing-too-young-it-can-be-torture-the-bone-is-too-soft/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Dancers, you know, they have pain everywhere: ankles in the morning, or back or neck or ribs or knees or the muscles. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/dancers-you-know-they-have-pain-everywhere-ankles-in-the-morning-or/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [If you are afraid of losing something, then you are dependent on it. If you are not afraid, then you are free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/if-you-are-afraid-of-losing-something-then-you-are-dependent-on-it-if/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I was born with a different physical capacity to other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-was-born-with-a-different-physical-capacity-to-other-people/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > ['Romeo and Juliet,' 'Manon,' 'Giselle' - they are not stupid stories. They have fantastic characters. They have a big package of emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/romeo-and-juliet-manon-giselle-they-are-not-stupid-stories-they-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [One has to learn to say, 'Wait, there is a pain that is not logical. I will do a scan, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/one-has-to-learn-to-say-wait-there-is-a-pain-that-is-not-logical-i/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [I was afraid when I came to the Royal Ballet that it would be easy to have everyone walking all over me if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-was-afraid-when-i-came-to-the-royal-ballet-that-it-would-be-easy-to/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [It is in my nature to be a little shy. It takes time for me to talk to people and trust them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/it-is-in-my-nature-to-be-a-little-shy-it-takes-time-for-me-to-talk-to/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [My mother really pushed me when I was young. I didn't want to go to dance classes, but for some reason, when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/my-mother-really-pushed-me-when-i-was-young-i-didn-t-want-to-go-to/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) [Explore all 106 Sylvie Guillem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers, MacMillan and Ashton, they knew how to translate complicated life into choreography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvie Guillem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those-choreographers-macmillan-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those-choreographers-macmillan-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/sylvie-guillem-4764_ballet_i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those_303678.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I loved being at the Royal Ballet. Those choreographers, MacMillan and Ashton, they knew how to translate…” — Sylvie Guillem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sylvie Guillem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I loved being at the Royal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those-choreographers-macmillan-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-loved-being-at-the-royal-ballet-those-choreographers-macmillan-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```