For me, every time I step on the stage it feels like a battle is about to start. It's not like we're going on stage to fight against our audience obviously, because for me, when I go on stage, I'm always trying to reach a new level of how am I going to make today a great night for everyone that's present.
The reality is there is only each present moment: You are called to give a talk. You get out of a building and into a car. You look out of the window. You arrive at the venue. You sit in the chair; you wait; you step out onto the stage. Every movement is simple. There is only that.
When you are thrown onto the stage at 17 in such an enormous way, it becomes living on the edge because every step you take, every word you speak, every action you do becomes headline news. And it became, for me, life or death.
I tend to - every time I step onto the set until the time I go back to the hotel, I just try to be in character all the time.
The stage is like an addiction. Since singing and dancing had been my dreams all this time, I fall even more into those charms every time I’m on stage. These days I get the urge to make the audience go crazy.
You can go onto that stage every night, and it's always the equivalent of going onto the topmost diving board, and you don't know if there's any water in the pool.
The thing is, any time anyone invades anyone on stage, the invader always looks really bad no matter what point they're proving - obviously that applies to myself too.
Every time I step onto the field, I think of my parents. It's such an honor to represent them and my family.
I've always gotten a natural high from performing. I suddenly feel invincible when I step onto the stage. Honestly, I get most of my energy from our fans. They are always so inspiring and they push me to give 200 percent at every show. I always think of myself as a physical manifestation of our music, and our music calls for a performer with a hell of a lot of energy!
Normally classical music is set up so you have professionals on a stage and a bunch of audience - it's us versus them. You spend your entire time as an audience member looking at the back of the conductor so you're already aware of a certain kind of hierarchy when you are there: there are people who can do it, who are on stage, and you aren't on stage so you can't do it. There's also a conductor who is telling the people who are onstage exactly what to do and when to do it and so you know that person is more important than the people on stage.
I love skating so much and I feel like every time I step out onto the ice, that's what I'm meant to do.
When you're on stage with an audience, the director's nowhere to be seen. He's onto the next job.
Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I'm not trying to play dirty - I'm just playing tough.
And if you can channel the truth of your own experience onto the stage, that's what the audience wants to see.
I don't come on to seduce the audience. I don't care if everyone laughs. I can't think about that anymore. If there's anything that a lot of experience on stage and a lot of stage time gives you is the confidence to know that it's ok if they're not laughing every second you're up there. Although that's what drives me and I still go too fast a lot of the time.
Every time I step onto an airplane, I turn to the right and take a good, hard stare into the maw of the engine. I don't know what I'm looking for. I just do it.