Martha Graham Quotes

One of the things that made Bob so unique and wonderful is that he had a genuine style, like Balanchine, like de Mille.

I would like to tell all dancers to forget themselves and the desire for self display. They must become completely absorbed in the dance. Even in a classical variation there should never be any thought of a dancer doing a variation--he should become identified with it.

Ballet can be grueling, for sure, but it gives you a certain discipline.

I wanted to open the dialogue about race in ballet and bring more people in. It's just beautiful to see the interest that has exploded for such an incredible art form that I will forever be grateful to!

When I announced my retirement, that was actually when I was trying to come back and I realized, it just wasn't viable. It passed me by. My shoulder is done. I brush my teeth with my left hand now. That's just the way it goes. I can't shoot a basketball, I can't throw any kind of ball. I was right handed.

Ballet is an incredible art, but it can be a bit elitist, which is a really big turn off to me.

'Swan Lake' can be a nightmare. To make a 'Swan Lake' that is worth it, every single movement and breath has to be perfect. When you have an idea of 'Swan Lake' that is as high as that, it's almost impossible.

Ballet was so structured. I'd been craving something that could guide me.

Finding ballet was like finding this missing piece of myself.

I was used to having a job - ballet was my job, and I felt like I needed something artistic to focus on after I quit.

I think ballet has influenced my personality a lot in the sense that I am very disciplined in all of my endeavours. I am always on time; I take things very seriously. I've built up my inner strength and self-esteem over time as I've improved as a dancer.

I always knew I was a bit different from my friends, had too much energy, and suddenly I could get it all out with ballet.

When I was still a student, I came out of a performing arts high school, and the female students who were doing traditional dance and ballet were so beautiful. They were beautiful, starting from their postures.

Ballet found me, I guess you could say. I was discovered by a teacher in middle school. I always danced my whole life. I never had any training, never was exposed to seeing dance, but I always had something inside of me. I would love to choreograph and dance around.

A dancer must listen to his body and pay homage to it. Behind the movement lies this terrible, driving passion, this necessity. I won't settle for anything less.

To express what is the most moral, healthful and beautiful in art this is the mission of the dancer, and to this I dedicate my life.

I enjoy the freedom of modern dance as well as the constraints of classical dance.

Ballet is more than a profession - it is a way of life.

The first time I saw Mikhail Baryshnikov it was like he had an anti-gravity machine in his pants. He would jump and stay in the air for 10 minutes.

I was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?

I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily, than as a flawless clown.

Ballet is a riddle of means and ends.

I think Balanchine and Robbins talk to God and when I call, he's out to lunch.

If the dance is right, there shouldn't be a single superfluous movement.

We are most artistically caged.