Lermontov: Why do you want to dance?
Vicky: Why do you want to live?
Lermontov: Well I don't know exactly why, er, but I must.
Vicky: That's my answer too.
This exchange foreshadows the tension that will eventually lead to Vicky's undoing: the necessity of dancing balanced against the necessity of living. Lermontov is impressed by the dedication to dancing that Vicky demonstrates here, assuming that it will lend itself to the kind of unparalleled allegiance to art he requires. By this assessment, to dance is to live, and vice-versa—although, eventually, Vicky will undermine this proclamation of commitment by quitting the Ballet Lermontov to be with Julian.
"The Ballet of The Red Shoes" is from a fairy tale by Hans Andersen. It is the story of a young girl who is devoured with an ambition to attend a dance in a pair of red shoes. She gets the shoes and goes to the dance. For a time, all goes well and she is very happy. At the end of the evening she is tired and wants to go home, but the red shoes are not tired. In fact, the red shoes are never tired. They dance her out into the street, they dance her over the mountains and valleys, through fields and forests, through night and day. Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by but the red shoes go on.
Lermontov's introduction of his new ballet also doubles as a handy plot summary for the film: a young Vicky, devoured by ambition to dance, unintentionally falls into a situation where she is unable to stop. As in the ballet, things go well for a time: she achieves worldwide fame, and appears happy to perform for Lermontov's company. However, when she falls in love with Julian, Lermontov suggests she may have to stop dancing, forcing her to choose between art and love. As Vicky pursues romance with Julian, her once unwavering dedication to dance begins to fade—but Lermontov, perhaps analogous to the red shoes, doesn't want her to stop, eventually leading to her downfall.
The music is all that matters. Nothing but the music.
Here, Lermontov is seen hawking his signature single-minded love of art to Julian. Much like he demands that Vicky be solely committed to dance, Julian is told that "all that matters" is his music. By encouraging this mindset in each of them, he hopes to elicit a stronger final product from both—in addition to encouraging them to focus solely on art, rather than each other.
Ljubov: You can't alter human nature.
Lermontov: No? I think you can do even better than that. You can ignore it!
After Irina is dismissed from the company due to her plans to get married, Ljubov tries to comfort an enraged Lermontov. To Lermontov, the decision to prioritize love over art constitutes the ultimate betrayal; Ljubov attempts to lessen the blow by suggesting that the appeal of romance is built into human nature. Despite Ljubov's levelheadedness, Lermontov remains attached to his exacting standards. "So what if love is part of human nature?" he seems to say: any dancer dedicated enough to work with his company must be so committed that they can override the very condition of their humanity.
For me it is a religion. And one doesn't really care to see one's religion practiced in an atmosphere...such as this.
Once again, Lermontov makes clear just how unwavering his dedication to art must be by likening it to religion. This claim is serious: if dance is his religion, Lermontov is likening himself to God. He is seen here attempting to control the conditions under which his work can be performed, hinting at his tendency towards obsessive creative control. In this one line, Lermontov's obsessive appreciation of art and megalomania are simultaneously revealed.
Down with tyrants!
This exclamation occurs early in the film, well before Julian is asked to work for the Ballet Lermontov. Therefore, it's loaded with some heavy foreshadowing: Julian will eventually try to lure Vicky away from Lermontov's tyrannical grasp, offering romance as a path to liberation from his intense creative control. This also foreshadows the tension between Julian and Lermontov that will persist throughout the film, highlighting Julian's anti-authoritarian tendencies, which will repeatedly come into conflict with Lermontov's controlling style of leadership.
It is worth remembering, that it is much more disheartening to have to steal than to be stolen from, hmmm?
Here, Lermontov is caught in a rare moment of humanity: when an infuriated Julian realizes that his professor has plagiarized his work, Lermontov offers this perspective as a source of comfort. This moment occurs before the tension between Julian and Lermontov has been established, representing the once hopeful prospect of a fruitful collaboration. Nevertheless, it hints at Lermontov's flexible morality as, underneath his sympathy, he ultimately justifies theft. This could also be understood as an extension of his intense dedication to creating good art: in this quote, he intimates that good work is good work, regardless of the conditions of its production.
Don't forget, a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by great agony of body and spirit.
In this quote, Lermontov begins to reveal himself as a crazy artistic genius: he reminds his dancers that good art—in this case, the impression of ease conveyed by a talented ballerina—doesn't come without pain. Lermontov seems determined to apply this truism to his dancers' lives, creating immense agony for Vicky by manipulating her emotionally and forbidding her love affair with Julian. This quote is the key to Lermontov's philosophy: great art is the only admirable goal, and should be pursued by any means necessary.
You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never.
Once again, Lermontov's view that dedication to dance and dedication to love are mutually exclusive is made painfully clear. This particular quote also hints towards Lermontov's inner emotional turmoil: by referring to the "doubtful comforts of human love," he implies that love has disappointed him in the past. This might help to explain his obsession with artistic perfection: while romance has failed him, dance never has. We know, however, that his claim is untrue: Vicky and Julian's affair isn't what causes Vicky to falter; it's only after Lermontov learns of their relationship that her suffering begins. In the blissful few weeks before he finds out, Vicky remains a great dancer while she begins to experience the "comforts of human love" as well. Thus, there are no innate conditions that prevent her from "having it all"—it's Lermontov's intervention that causes her eventual psychological break.
Vicky: Julian, I love you!
Julian: But you love that more.
This exchange lays out the central conflict of the film: Vicky's torn allegiance between dance and romance. Implicitly, Julian shares Lermontov's harmful mindset that a person can only have one true love, further pressuring Vicky as he intimates that she must choose between—or at least prioritize—her love for him and her love for dance. Perhaps Vicky's problems would be lessened if she were allowed to have two great loves. But instead, an arbitrary system that refuses to let women "have it all" forces her to make an impossible choice between two intense passions, ultimately leaving her with neither.
