I want to be happy, to look back and feel I danced well at the end of my career and didn't dwindle off. It would be too sad.

I am just so thankful that my mom was a fantastic mom. She wasn't a stage mother; she didn't push me. She was happy if I was happy. We are so different. I was very shy; my mom did all the talking. She was my strength. She never expected that I would be this ballerina.

When I hung up my toe shoes, I didn't look back. In all my years, I have never looked back.

In Europe, a great dancer might be on the same level as a movie star. In America, not so.

I would hate for anybody not to abide by alert warnings coming from government systems.

We urge all democratic nations and the United Nations to answer the Iraqi Governing Council's call for support for the people of Iraq in making the transition to democracy.

China is a government-oriented economy. No one can say he can run his business entirely without government connections. Anybody who says that he or she can do things alone... is a hypocrite.

Government requires bringing people together and genuinely hearing their issues. It requires the establishment and strengthening of community.