Erik Bruhn and the responsibility of talent

Having to live up to such a wealth of talent has not been easy for Erik Bruhn, though lavish, and burdensome, praise has never been denied him.

He recalls how members of the Royal Danish Ballet would stand amazed at his feats in the Royal Danish Ballet School classroom. "People from the professional company would come and watch me do certain things," says Bruhn. "Of course we were all trained in the Bournonville technique, but I had a facility for turning and I could do certain things within the framework of the music that somehow intensified my movements. This all came very naturally to me, and I had no idea why. At any rate, the press got wind of my ability and someone came to interview me. For some reason I told the interviewer that I planned to stop dancing -- right then, at fifteen. You see, I became frightened of my capacities, and frightened of the responsibility of the talent I was apparently born with. Of course, I continued dancing, but that initial fear has never left me."

Erik Bruhn, Danseur Noble by John Gruen 1979. Pages 1-2.