John Simon Quotes

Dance has always been my number one. I started when I was seven years old and I've had the opportunity to work with some really amazing artists.

And what would be great numbers in a Broadway show are now on stage of the New York City Ballet.

The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.

I used to dance when I was younger - ballet and modern dance.

My mother danced; she loved the ballet.

The New York City Ballet is obviously speaking to a whole new generation and bringing it the same wonder and beauty that it brought previous generations.

I have a penchant for playing God's clowns. Actually, I played Nijinsky once, and he used to call himself God's clown.

The music industry is so easy compared to the ballet world.

Dancers are a work of art - they are the canvas on which their work is painted.

I was really creative. I started to dance very young. I loved to dance. I begged my mother to put me into dance classes, and finally, in third grade, she did. Tap and jazz, but not ballet.

I really have a new-found respect for dancers.

Growing up, I was a dancer. I wanted to be a choreographer.

I am wearing Santo Loquasto's beautiful costumes. I get to stand on stage at 71 years old wearing the most darling dance boots. I am working with my dresser, who is the best dresser on Broadway; he's traveling with me. It's divine. It doesn't get better than this.

As ballerinas, we don't use our voices. Our voice is the body and the movement quality.

When I dance, I look almost identical to Beyonce. And I mean identical. In many ways, when she becomes Sasha Fierce, she's actually just becoming me.

My intention is to make sure that the new work being created for the ballet world is relevant.

I like to express myself inside of the work that is given, and I let the dancers do the same.

When I was young, I took classical ballet lessons, but I wasn't very good at it. It was really frustrating because I wanted to be good at it. When I stopped having lessons, I began to dance and improvise, and I felt more comfortable.

Ditya Bhande is a nice dancer.

Ballet is one form which I really want Indians to practice it.

Pure dance form is not dying.

I have learned a great deal from the theatrical side of Covent Garden. The Paris Opera Ballet is more concerned with technique. It's perfect. It's beautiful. It's well done. But it lacks the theatrical tradition that is so important in England. At the Royal Ballet, absolutely everyone on stage seems to be caught up in the plot.

Daisuke Takahashi has really good footwork.

To be able to run routes, that's like the greatest thing to me. It's kind of like an art to me. It's like a painter drawing or something like that. That's how I feel every time I run a route.

I love the physical movement and beauty of dance.