Suzanne Farrell Quotes

Dancers know how to move their arms and their hands. But I don't know the first thing about how to move my arms and hands gracefully.

Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

It's always about trying to make everything go with the music, like a script. It's not like, 'Let's have a confetti gun!' If I ever have one of those, it will be because it's absolutely the right thing at the moment in the song. I can't just go get a confetti gun.

I am dancing all the time. Every gesture, the body line of every pose, the way I get from place to place, the movement in the acting - none of it would be the way it is if I weren't a dancer.

I believe it is in my nature to dance by virtue of the beat of my heart, the pulse of my blood and the music in my mind.

Music is the expression of the movement of the waters, the play of curves described by changing breezes.

When you dance, your body just wants to find its natural weight. I'm naturally a lot more Tommy Tune than I am Wolverine.

I can tell by the way somebody walks if they can dance or not. Just by the rhythm.

Well, I think writing is basically about time and rhythm. Like with jazz. You have your basic melody and then you just riff off of it. And the riffs are about timing.

I'm not a great dancer. I know I'm not. But I know that I can move. I can throw shapes, just not in the right order.

Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.

I do read music, but I prefer playing from the heart.

Rhythm is God. I think, without rhythm, you can't create - there is no art.

As a dancer, you learn the importance of transitional moments. If you figure out what you can do next, that's how you don't get stuck.

Anybody cannot be a dancer. A dancer must have a certain posture, gestures, height, behaviour.

Ballroom dancing is so articulate. Your hips have to be a certain way, legs have to be straight at one time and bent another.

When I coach dancers, I always like to get on the dance floor with them or describe something by showing them.

My choreography is very classically based.

I dance as best I can. I try to let the music flow freely through my legs.

Whether it's dance or action, what's important is hand and body co-ordination. When you are a good dancer then automatically while performing action, the co-ordination is that much easier.

My dance background helped me tremendously. Dancing is like second nature to me.

Improvising is writing, too - there was no music and now there's music. So that's composition. And any time you take any sort of a performance liberty, you're making a compositional choice. I don't know a serious performer who hasn't made compositional decisions, who hasn't engaged in the art of composition.

I'm definitely influenced by the music. We dance to music, and you have to listen to it and phrase your dancing and movement in a certain way to compliment the music. We have to work hand in hand, the dancer and the music.

"Dance," said the Sheep Man. "Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays. Yougotta dance. Don'teventhinkwhy. Starttothink, yourfeetstop. Yourfeetstop, wegetstuck. Wegetstuck, you'restuck. Sodon'tpayanymind, nomatterhowdumb. Yougottakeepthestep. Yougottalimberup. Yougottaloosenwhatyoubolteddown. Yougottauseallyougot. Weknowyou're tired, tiredandscared. Happenstoeveryone, okay? Justdon'tletyourfeetstop."

When it comes down to dance, dance is about movement to music.