Edward Villella

I graduated with my BS. I gave it to my father and told him I was going to become a ballet dancer again. He stopped talking to me for a year. Ah, well. Anyway, I dive into this thing called classical ballet. What did I have going into it? I had all the physicality I needed. I could jump. I could do tricks. Hey no problem. I was a boxer, a baseball player. Show less «

(On his relationship with George Balanchine): "All I wanted to do was please him. But I was not willing to destroy myself in order to do so." Show less «

I have nine broken toes, stress fractures in both legs, I have a knee that can't be operated on again, two artificial hips, a bad back, and a bad neck. None of that from that sissy stuff--from baseball and boxing--but from this other thing [Ballet]. Show less «

I came from a hardworking Catholic clan.

I thought, 'Hey. I'm an athlete. I'm physical--that's all I need. You jump up and down, you grab the girls, you pick 'em up, you put 'em down, that's all there is to it.' Show less «