Quotes by Dancer | Beyond Motive 2/8

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Quotes by Dancer

"And then you have the classical ballerinas, they're like sopranos. Applied to the dance."

"And then you have the classical ballerinas, they're like sopranos. Applied to the dance."

Ninette de Valois, Irish Dancer

21

"You know, this isn't theatre like it used to be."

"You know, this isn't theatre like it used to be."

Katherine Dunham, American Dancer

21

"I think that anyone who's pushed to do the very best that they can is privileged. It's a luxury."

"I think that anyone who's pushed to do the very best that they can is privileged. It's a luxury."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

21

"I think the Olympics could help us reach more people."

"I think the Olympics could help us reach more people."

Graeme Murphy, Australian Dancer

21

"It's not about weight, it's about fitness, and one component of being fit is to have relatively low body fat, because fat is not very efficient, whereas muscle is."

"It's not about weight, it's about fitness, and one component of being fit is to have relatively low body fat, because fat is not very efficient, whereas muscle is."

Deborah Bull, British Dancer

Fitness, Being, Body, Weight

21

"In fact, ballet companies did not exist in the Midwest when I was a child."

"In fact, ballet companies did not exist in the Midwest when I was a child."

Suzanne Farrell, American Dancer

21

"With any project there's one or two things that you really want to do and that's going to crack it."

"With any project there's one or two things that you really want to do and that's going to crack it."

Matthew Bourne, English Dancer

21

"I liked tap, because I liked hearing the results of my movements."

"I liked tap, because I liked hearing the results of my movements."

Suzanne Farrell, American Dancer

Hearing, Results

21

"I believe that dance communicates man's deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written."

"I believe that dance communicates man's deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written."

Ted Shawn, American Dancer

Dance, Thoughts, Emotions, Man

21

"In terms of individuals who actually inspired me, very few of the academic people that I had access to had that power over me. Maybe it's simply because I wasn't that committed to geometry."

"In terms of individuals who actually inspired me, very few of the academic people that I had access to had that power over me. Maybe it's simply because I wasn't that committed to geometry."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

Power, People, Geometry

20

"Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart."

"Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart."

Martha Graham, American Dancer

20

"I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that far apart."

"I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that far apart."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

20

"Young dancers are training at a very vulnerable time in their lives, through adolescence, and while they are trying to work out who they are as people, never mind as a dancer. So train the whole person, not just the dancer."

"Young dancers are training at a very vulnerable time in their lives, through adolescence, and while they are trying to work out who they are as people, never mind as a dancer. So train the whole person, not just the dancer."

Deborah Bull, British Dancer

Time, Work, People, Adolescence

20

"Normally our season is seven weeks in the Drama Theatre and four weeks in the Opera Theater."

"Normally our season is seven weeks in the Drama Theatre and four weeks in the Opera Theater."

Graeme Murphy, Australian Dancer

Drama, Opera, Theater, Theatre

19

"I have lots of interests, but it's true that dancing is a very full-time job."

"I have lots of interests, but it's true that dancing is a very full-time job."

Deborah Bull, British Dancer

Dance, Dancing, Job

19

"As you get older, the physical abilities decrease, which is particularly frustrating because your brain gets so good! So as you are becoming less technically or physically able, younger dancers are emerging who need the space to perform."

"As you get older, the physical abilities decrease, which is particularly frustrating because your brain gets so good! So as you are becoming less technically or physically able, younger dancers are emerging who need the space to perform."

Deborah Bull, British Dancer

19

"Money is a never-ending problem."

"Money is a never-ending problem."

Alvin Ailey, American Dancer

19

"We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God."

"We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God."

Martha Graham, American Dancer

God, Dance, Dancing, Living

19

"I wasn't really naked. I simply didn't have any clothes on."

"I wasn't really naked. I simply didn't have any clothes on."

Josephine Baker, French Dancer

19

"Sometimes you don't know what you've got until you put it in front of an audience - and the enthusiasm for the show from the audience has been just incredible."

"Sometimes you don't know what you've got until you put it in front of an audience - and the enthusiasm for the show from the audience has been just incredible."

Matthew Bourne, English Dancer

19

"No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business."

"No dancer can watch Fred Astaire and not know that we all should have been in another business."

Mikhail Baryshnikov, American Dancer

19

"I always recommend a sensible diet, including lots of carbohydrates and avoiding too much fat. Dancers don't need different fuel from other people - they just need more of it because they use more energy."

"I always recommend a sensible diet, including lots of carbohydrates and avoiding too much fat. Dancers don't need different fuel from other people - they just need more of it because they use more energy."

Deborah Bull, British Dancer

Diet, People, Energy

18

"But I also wanted to give them an intelligent emotional journey, without having to suspend reality - to be able to look at those characters and see reasons for the relationships and why what happens happens."

"But I also wanted to give them an intelligent emotional journey, without having to suspend reality - to be able to look at those characters and see reasons for the relationships and why what happens happens."

Graeme Murphy, Australian Dancer

Journey, Reality, Relationships

18

"The finest inheritance you can give to a child is to allow it to make its own way, completely on its own feet."

"The finest inheritance you can give to a child is to allow it to make its own way, completely on its own feet."

Isadora Duncan, American Dancer

Feet, Inheritance

18

"Nearly everything in life goes in threes and fours."

"Nearly everything in life goes in threes and fours."

Ninette de Valois, Irish Dancer

18

"The best way to study is to go to the Cecchetti method for about a year and draw onto all the highest points and then put that into the general method."

"The best way to study is to go to the Cecchetti method for about a year and draw onto all the highest points and then put that into the general method."

Ninette de Valois, Irish Dancer

18

"Sometimes you feel bad about yourself when there's no reason to."

"Sometimes you feel bad about yourself when there's no reason to."

Alvin Ailey, American Dancer

18

"I build duets into bigger works. I like to see people working together. What we call a giant solo in my company is about four bars long while twenty other people are doing something dynamically. I like the charge that is set up by a lot of people doing something."

"I build duets into bigger works. I like to see people working together. What we call a giant solo in my company is about four bars long while twenty other people are doing something dynamically. I like the charge that is set up by a lot of people doing something."

Mark Morris, American Dancer

People, Company

18

"Sometimes I have given my husband a manuscript to read that has turned out to have fantastic rave reviews and he'll tell me it is no good. Well, if I didn't know him as well as I know him I would be terribly depressed."

"Sometimes I have given my husband a manuscript to read that has turned out to have fantastic rave reviews and he'll tell me it is no good. Well, if I didn't know him as well as I know him I would be terribly depressed."

Katherine Dunham, American Dancer

18

"I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely."

"I like Frenchmen very much, because even when they insult you they do it so nicely."

Josephine Baker, French Dancer

18

"Haiti itself was also photographed, some of the streets, some of the mountains, rivers, streams, etc. were photographed before talking with me about how I felt about Haiti. Then the camera went to our voodoo temple and saw a serious ceremony, a real ceremony."

"Haiti itself was also photographed, some of the streets, some of the mountains, rivers, streams, etc. were photographed before talking with me about how I felt about Haiti. Then the camera went to our voodoo temple and saw a serious ceremony, a real ceremony."

Katherine Dunham, American Dancer

Temple, Ceremony, Mountains, Rivers

18

"I'm not one who divides music, dance or art into various categories. Either something works, or it doesn't."

"I'm not one who divides music, dance or art into various categories. Either something works, or it doesn't."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

Art, Music, Dance

18

"I think it requires a bit of honesty, Swan Lake."

"I think it requires a bit of honesty, Swan Lake."

Graeme Murphy, Australian Dancer

18

"I was privileged to be able to study a year with Martha Graham, the last year she was teaching."

"I was privileged to be able to study a year with Martha Graham, the last year she was teaching."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

Study, Teaching

18

"In my ballets, woman is first. Men are consorts. God made men to sing the praises of women. They are not equal to men: They are better."

"In my ballets, woman is first. Men are consorts. God made men to sing the praises of women. They are not equal to men: They are better."

George Balanchine, Russian Dancer

Men, Women, God, First

18

"Misery is a communicable disease."

"Misery is a communicable disease."

Martha Graham, American Dancer

Disease, Misery

18

"A lot of people insisted on a wall between modern dance and ballet. I'm beginning to think that walls are very unhealthy things."

"A lot of people insisted on a wall between modern dance and ballet. I'm beginning to think that walls are very unhealthy things."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

People, Dance, Ballet, Beginning

18

"We should realize in a vivid and revolutionary sense that we are not in our bodies but our bodies are in us."

"We should realize in a vivid and revolutionary sense that we are not in our bodies but our bodies are in us."

Ruth St. Denis, American Dancer

17

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion."

"Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion."

Martha Graham, American Dancer

17

"The necessity to constantly turn in an excellent performance, to be absolutely wedded to this dedication and this ideal means that as a child you're going to pay for it personally."

"The necessity to constantly turn in an excellent performance, to be absolutely wedded to this dedication and this ideal means that as a child you're going to pay for it personally."

Twyla Tharp, American Dancer

Performance, Dedication, Necessity

17

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired."

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired."

Martha Graham, American Dancer

Faith, Vision, Act, Desire

17

"Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike."

"Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike."

Margot Fonteyn, English Dancer

Art, Life, People, Artists

17

"The particular ballet was not so important as the fact that I was physically healthy, and capable of getting out there and dancing as often as possible."

"The particular ballet was not so important as the fact that I was physically healthy, and capable of getting out there and dancing as often as possible."

Suzanne Farrell, American Dancer

Ballet, Dancing, Fact

17

"I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do."

"I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do."

Suzanne Farrell, American Dancer

Ballet, Care, Conformity

17

"I'm thrilled at the moment because our audiences, you know, they... the demographic is 50% male."

"I'm thrilled at the moment because our audiences, you know, they... the demographic is 50% male."

Graeme Murphy, Australian Dancer

Audience, Audiences

17

"All the children in the school should learn the steps of everything, before they learn the thing, then they know which step they're doing better, because your voice is in certain steps and has to do most of the things that have been composed in those steps."

"All the children in the school should learn the steps of everything, before they learn the thing, then they know which step they're doing better, because your voice is in certain steps and has to do most of the things that have been composed in those steps."

Ninette de Valois, Irish Dancer

Children, School, Voice

17

"The practice mirror is to be used for the correction of faults, not for a love affair, and the figure you watch should not become your dearest friend."

"The practice mirror is to be used for the correction of faults, not for a love affair, and the figure you watch should not become your dearest friend."

Agnes de Mille, American Dancer

Love, Friend, Correction, Faults

17

"Disney is thrilling and informative and important and beautiful and suspect. Butts was a detail I observed later and definitely ties in. I suppose I was programmed, yeah."

"Disney is thrilling and informative and important and beautiful and suspect. Butts was a detail I observed later and definitely ties in. I suppose I was programmed, yeah."

Mark Morris, American Dancer

17

"I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win."

"I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win."

Mata Hari, Dutch Dancer

17

"God gave us all exactly the same fingers, arms, legs, and feet, but in our different countries we divided them all a little differently as we feel it, do you understand?"

"God gave us all exactly the same fingers, arms, legs, and feet, but in our different countries we divided them all a little differently as we feel it, do you understand?"

Ninette de Valois, Irish Dancer

God, Countries, Feet

17

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