Quotes from Cyd Charisse

I danced with the Ballet Russe in Paris when I was 16 and did not need a companion.

When you dance you need an awful lot of energy. Off stage, you learn to conserve.

I eat a big breakfast and then go off to an hour and a half of strong ballet class.

I simply hate the sight of a suitcase.

It would be impossible to make a comparison between Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Their personalities are entirely different.

When I'm working on a picture, I get up at 6 o'clock in the morning, report to the sound stage for rehearsals at 8, then appear before the camera from 9 to 6. I dread going to lunch, because during that hour my muscles get cold and I have to warm them up again. Standing still is the most miserable thing a dancer has to do.

It's impossible to make dancing really effective on TV. The screen is too small, and the cameras can't move fast enough to get the right angles.

To make a man happy, treat him like a dog - plenty of affection and a loose leash.

My husband, my children and my home were the greatest concern to me.

Making a movie is like sprinting. Nightclub work is a long-distance event. You have to pace yourself and sustain it for a long period.

Well, I swim quite a bit, and ride horseback. That's supposed to be bad for dancers, but I don't care - I like it. And then I collect dolls. I have them from lots of foreign countries.

My favorite occupation at home is sitting by the pool in swim suit, soaking in the sun, cooling off by an occasional sip of my water.

I know there are pros and cons about the studio system.

I know the one-week stands and the moving from city to city wears a lot of people down. But I find it exciting that's where the audiences are.

I like warm weather but not this sticky, humid heat of New York.

I had a mild case of polio as a child. Not enough to cripple me, but it was polio. I still have an atrophy on the right side of my back.

When you have control of muscles through balance, exercises not only streamline your figure, but you acquire a command and grace which contributes to your posture and to the way you wear your clothes.

There is no point working off pounds with exercise, if you are going to eat them back on again.

Who can copy Garbo?

I was a dancer, not an actress.

If I have any strength as a dancer, I got it all from Nijinska. Her barre was tough, and there were very difficult combinations.

Most dancers are very quiet.

I've always worked very hard. I think dancers always do.

Tap was against everything I had learned to do. I was pulled up as a ballet dancer, and I wasn't used to pounding the floor with bent knees.