It’s very difficult to justify a profession as a dancer.
I think that probably the moments of discovery do come from a place that is not totally organized. Order is something that we already know about. Discoveries are in a place we don’t already know about.
I began to discriminate between fear and excitement. The two, though very close, are completely different. Fear is negative excitement, choking your imagination. Real excitement produces an energy that overcomes apprehension and makes you want to close in on your goal.
Creativity is not just for artists. It’s for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it’s for engineers trying to solve a problem; it’s for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.
When you stimulate your body, your brain comes alive in ways you can’t simulate in a sedentary position.
In creative endeavors luck is a skill.
Obligation is a flimsy base for creativity, way down the list behind passion, courage, instinct, and the desire to do something great.
Whether or not God has kissed your brow, you still have to work. Without learning and preparation, you won’t know how to harness the power of that kiss.
I can’t emphasize this idea enough. Getting involved with your collaborator’s problems almost always distracts you from your own. That can be tempting. That can be a relief. But it usually leads to disaster.
A dancer’s life is all about repetition.
Never worry that rote exercises aimed at developing skills will suffocate creativity. At the same time, it’s important to recognize that demonstrating great technique is not the same as being creative.
The great ones never take fundamentals for granted.
The more you know, the better you can imagine.
I always, somehow, knew that I was going to dance.
Doing is better than not doing, and if you do something badly you’ll learn to do it better.
What I do remember is visualization of the sound of music, seeing bodies in movement in relation to how music sounded, because my mother practiced at the keyboard a lot and I also went to her lessons. As a two year old, three year old I remember seeing things in movement.
When creativity has become your habit; when you’ve learned to manage time, resources, expectations, and the demands of others; when you understand the value and place of validation, continuity, and purity of purpose, then you’re on the way to an artist’s ultimate goal; the achievement of mastery.
I had to become the greatest choreographer of my time. That was my mission, and that’s what I set out to do.
Mastery is an elusive concept. You never know when you achieve it absolutely and it may not help you to feel you’ve attained it. We can recognize it more readily in others than we can in ourselves. We have to discover our own definition of it.
Once you accept the power of spine in the creative act, you will become much more efficient in your creativity. You will still get lost on occasion, but having a spine will anchor you.