Quotes from Sergei Polunin

The Royal Ballet is the best paid company, but the dancers get nothing. The stage crew get paid three times more than the dancers, and they have a job for life - dancers only have 10 years.

I would love for dancers to be treated better and for dancers to have support, for dancers to have managers, agents. This is the only art form that does not have a proper support system.

I love movies and there's something close to me about James Dean - I always wanted to do choreography on him.

But yeah, I don't think you can conquer demons.

I do get depressed sometimes, I don't know why. It's since I was a kid and it's just part of my personality.

I don't know how you completely destroy your dark side.

When I was a kid I always liked scratching myself - making shapes, making drawings, and I always thought I would have a tattoo.

I went and got a tattoo of James Dean on my shoulder without actually seeing him in any movies.

When you are low, you do tattoos and it gives you adrenaline for a couple of days and you're happy.

Just let me live my life.

When I became a principal at the Royal Ballet it was my childhood goal, a dream and I became it at 19. And then I said 'what's next?' and I set myself a different goal at 19 to become an actor.

Well, that's why ballet is one of the hardest disciplines - you kind of stay childlike, because you never really experience childhood, so you try to stay in that.

I'm not a bad boy now I'm living in Russia. London was great but there were too many distractions.

In Russia it is great because you can concentrate 100 percent on your work, there are not as many distractions as London, so I've literally had a year concentrating on my dancing.

When I worked with David LaChappelle, I was stimulated... He was explaining how he does things, how he works. I realized what an artist is, so I thought that's what dancers should experience.

Whoever thought of making ballet? I mean, what is it? It's so alien. You just look at people's behavior as well - people trying to show off on stage and people clapping.

I'm on good terms with Kevin O'Hare.

I thought about my future. In 10 years' time, I would be in the same position as when I started - the best dancer in the world, but still sharing a flat. You're an adult, but you live like a kid.

I'm not fond of the idea of doing ballet for ballet's sake, because dancers get exploited and they're not paid well. They do it for the love.

If I had the choice I'd be a boxer or a footballer.

A footballer in three weeks earns what a dancer makes in a year.

I struggle to get the big companies to trust me, or be willing to work with me.

The ballet world is so competitive, and for no reason. It's not a sport. It's an art. There's no winner.

I am very thankful to the Royal Albert Hall for the opportunity to dance here; it's been a long hope of mine.