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The ballet world is notoriously brutal in its physical and emotional demands. The primary goal is absolute perfection. Unlike a professional athlete, which many believe Bissell could have become, a ballet star never has the satisfaction of knowing a final score, or of beating the competition. He competes only against himself—and for a perfectionist this may be the harshest competition of all.
芭蕾舞對體力和情感的要求很苛刻，這是出了名的，而絕對完美是其首要目標。許多人認為比斯爾本應成為一名職業運動員，而芭蕾舞明星與運動員不同，永遠不能通過知曉最終比賽結果或在競爭中獲勝而獲得滿足感。他只和自己競爭——對于一個完美主義者來說，這可能是最嚴酷的競爭。
When young Bissell set off for life, his mother believes he carried with him seeds that would lead to his destruction. Patrick was one of five children born in six years to Patricia and Donald Bissell, an ambitious young couple who moved six times by the time Patrick was 12.
比斯爾的母親認為，從他離家奮斗開始，他就埋下了會導致其毀滅的種子。帕特里克是帕特里夏和唐納德·比斯爾在6年里生下的5個孩子中的一個，到帕特里克12歲時，這一對雄心勃勃的年輕夫婦已搬遷了6次。
Patricia Bissell, herself terribly frustrated during those years, is convinced that her son's self-esteem was so battered by her emotional and physical beatings when he was a child that he carried with him a deep-seated hatred of himself. True or not, Patrick Bissell's life seems tormented from the time he was a very young man.
帕特里夏·比斯爾本人在那些年里深受挫折，她深信兒子的自尊心在童年時就由于她對其身心的打擊而受到了傷害，他因此對自身有一種根深蒂固的仇恨。不管她說的是否屬實，帕特里克·比斯爾似乎自童年起生活就受到了困擾。
Every indication is that, even early in his career, Bissell was addicted to cocaine, alcohol and other drugs. But his strength and skill were so tremendous that he was able to perform the most demanding work without his managers' knowing the truth.
各種跡象表明，甚至，在比斯爾舞蹈生涯的初期，他就已對可卡因、酒精和其他毒品產生了依賴。但是他的力量和技藝超人，總能夠完成要求最嚴格苛刻的表演，而他的經理人卻不知曉任何實情。
In her autobiography, Dancing on My Grave, ballerina Gelsey Kirkland claims that Bissell introduced her to cocaine soon after his success in New York City, thus setting their private stage for a long affair of sex and drugs.
女芭蕾舞演員格爾西·柯克蘭在其自傳《墳墓上的舞蹈》中聲稱，比斯爾在紐約市一舉成名后不久，便誘使她吸食了可卡因，從此他們之間保持著長期的性關系，并共同吸食毒品。
