1.
I'm a sucker for turquoise sea, white beaches and palm trees. I've been to the tropics every year since I could afford it. It's the perfect place to unwind. I can chill out, read, do a bit of yoga.
Bruno Tonioli
2.
When people feel threatened by you, they find something that is belittling.
Bruno Tonioli
3.
My parents wanted me to work in a bank or as an accountant.
Bruno Tonioli
4.
When people speak their own language you get a much better sense of who they are.
Bruno Tonioli
5.
I started dancing before I could talk. Other babies learn to stand and then walk - I just danced.
Bruno Tonioli
6.
When it came to the stylish and graceful art of ballroom dancing, my dad was a king of the clubs, a prowling tiger and a wonderfully natural mover.
Bruno Tonioli
7.
I'm not romantic at all. I'm a moaner. I should be on Grumpy Old Men. I'm terrible.
Bruno Tonioli
8.
It's horrible how money and fame can make you acceptable while, if you're not famous or rich, you're not acceptable.
Bruno Tonioli
9.
I think a lot of people have a vision of L.A. in which TV executives and movie directors plan their latest productions by the swimming pool.
Bruno Tonioli
10.
I like to read about subjects unrelated to my work, especially history.
Bruno Tonioli
11.
I'm with people all the time so I often go away on my own.
Bruno Tonioli
12.
I love contemporary art, although I wouldn't want a pickled shark in my house.
Bruno Tonioli
13.
I eat well, but I don't believe in diets.
Bruno Tonioli
14.
I just like to take my time, have a cup of tea and read the paper. I don't like starting the day in a panic.
Bruno Tonioli
15.
Mum had a job fitting upholstery into cars, but, in the evenings, she worked as a seamstress.
Bruno Tonioli
16.
I don't like myself. I'm not vain at all. I hate looking at myself - I always think I look ugly. Honest.
Bruno Tonioli
17.
I think school is so important. I was good student. A rebel, but I did well in my studies. I don't close myself to anything. I liked reading and I still love learning. I loved history and German.
Bruno Tonioli
18.
In America they like my spicy TV alter ego, probably because there were a lot of Italians and Hispanics in the country, but the real L.A. life is a hard-working one.
Bruno Tonioli
19.
If I had a place with a studio where I could paint I'd be happy.
Bruno Tonioli
20.
In reality, nobody gets successful in America by being lazy.
Bruno Tonioli
21.
I look after myself. I train and go to the gym.
Bruno Tonioli
22.
When I visit a country, I like to experience local food.
Bruno Tonioli
23.
A good show makes me happy. It's a great sensation. If you could capture a great atmosphere and do it every time, that would be amazing.
Bruno Tonioli
24.
Before a long-haul flight, buy yourself a cheap, big, comfortable pillow. It makes a huge difference.
Bruno Tonioli
25.
I love reading. I'm very much into history, novels, biographies and I have a wide range of thrillers.
Bruno Tonioli
26.
Dad was a bus driver, and when he finished work he would repair cars.
Bruno Tonioli
27.
I've been in love with the cinema since childhood and it's a fantasy of mine to appear in a Hollywood movie.
Bruno Tonioli
28.
When I was 10, I knew there was something different about me. Everyone was football-mad, but I just wanted to watch musicals and see art.
Bruno Tonioli
29.
I've done everything. I've sung, done records, plays... It just so happened my first professional job was as a dancer. I've done the whole shebang, darling. But dancing was my first professional engagement in 1974. I got paid for it, so that was it, my vocation. But my parents weren't keen. They wanted me to be an accountant in Italy. Or a lawyer. They were furious. I had to run away. I had to leave the country.
Bruno Tonioli