Danilova on dancers and class

They must learn to measure their energy. After they are taken into the company, the demands on their bodies are even greater and it is easier for them to overwork, because they are trying to make an impression and advance. After class in the morning, they have rehearsal, which is the equivalent of another class, and then usually a performance in the evening. Many dancers when they get tired simply stop going to class. They are called for rehearsal, they must perform, they need their sleep. Or perhaps they think that because they have roles to dance, because they are a success on the stage, they no longer need to struggle with themselves in class. They are mistaken. I tell them that this is the most important time of all to take class, when they are tired. They must go and do only the exercises at the barre--not relax and sleep--and then relax the next day; this is according to Mme Vazem, who was our famous coach in Russia, and Pierina Legnani, who was a remarkable technician. Their advice was never to miss class. It is in class that you place yourself, you purify your technique; it is by performing that you become stronger. A dancer's life must consist of both, class and performance, or else it cannot go forward.

At the other extreme, there are dancers who are better in the studio than they are on the stage--they are what we call "classroom performers." There are some in every company. These dancers, no matter how proficient they may be, are not real artists. A real artist is awakened on the stage.

Choura: the memoirs of Alexandra Danilova. 1987. Page 197.