Dance quotes to help survive the storms:
"Never forget your dream."
"Let me see your hunger."
"If you stay with this profession, it can prepare you to live your life more
fully. The whole point of art is that it helps fashion a sanity out of the
myriad and random pieces that constitute a lifetime. For to be an
artist-dancer is to penetrate those mysteries that give you a raison d'etre,
you must see beyond the immediate pain, the lack of (job) opportunities,
inadequate compensation, and often horrible working conditions. This
obviously is not a profession for everyone studying dance. But once you're
an artist, you remain an artist all your life and (satisfaction from) your
commitment is your reward."
"There is a reason for everything on this earth. There is an herb for every
dis-ease. And there is a purpose, a mission, for every human being."
"In order to work, in order to be excited, in order to simply be, you have
to be reborn to the instant. You have to permit yourself to feel, you have
to permit yourself to be vulnerable. You may not like what you see, that is
not important. You don't always have to judge. But you must be attacked by
it, excited by it, and your body must be alive."
"... because ever day without exception must be Christmas... Life is a matter of being born; but Art is a question of being alive." -- e.e. cummings
"You are the music." Merle Holloman
"Let me see the rhythm... Let me see the animal within you." -- Colin Connor
"It doesn't matter where you learned it -- it's a gift. If you care about something, you have to protect it. If you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." -- From A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
"You will pass through storms and heavy rains, and at times you will suffer defeat. The essence of the creative life, however, is not to give up in the face of defeat but to follow the rainbow that exists within your heart." -- Daisaku Ikeda
"All of our lives have some mystery at the core." -- From One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
"On stage I am calm and relaxed. I am in control and am the one dealing surprises to the audience... splashes of color here and there in unexpected moments... a magician of sorts, of the kind that deals in things of great meaning, great depth... of the things that keep our insides alive. For without the life of imagination, the life of mystery, we are mere shells, robots, skeletons. I refuse to believe that that is what we are. We are all divine -- we all possess a spark of the initial divine life. And the realization of that mystery, drawn out by whatever means -- poetry, music, dance, gardening, even a game of bridge -- must be held with the greatest love and trust. The nerves of critics, photographers, videographers, or competitors pale pathetically in the shadow of this realization. There is so much more going on than we all think." -- Kathleen Hurley
"The key, then, is to stay aware, to always question, to stay close to the core or at least intend to return, to communicate, and to close the eyes and listen." -- Kathleen Hurley
"And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more." -- Erica Jong
"Art can serve a person's personal or political agenda or it can reflect a true artist's honest exploration of the nature of things." -- Thomas Moore
"Dance is not about the human body. That's a mistake. The instrument of dance is the human being. How can you not have an emotional reaction? It's unnatural to stifle it." -- John Neumeier
"We do not create in a vacuum. Art is a Divine Collaboration, a sacred covenant between the artist and the Great Creator." -- Sara Ban Breathnach
Dancer's Prayer: "Stretch me wide so that the divine secrets of my body, the earth, the air, the music, the space, the momentum and the stillness are revealed in succulent, glistening moments of dance -- moments like rare pearls on the strand of time." -- Kathleen Hurley
"Do not worry, eat three square meals a day, say your prayers, be courteous to your creditors, keep your digestion good, exercise, go slow and easy." -- Abraham Lincoln