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" Modern dancers should be doing things no one else is doing, and it should come from the gut. "

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" I used to say to myself, 'Well, in the old days everybody danced because they loved to dance, and there was none of this professional garbage going on about how much can you get for this or that or the other, or any of the kinds of things that insecurity can sometimes promote. Sometimes it's for the wrong reasons.' "

" I feel I can handle the architecture of dance as well as anybody. "

" The ultimate point of a piece for me is that it drives the next one. Does it open new doors? That's the success of a piece. "

" I'm obviously always interested in the dancer who's an athlete and vice versa. I expect dancers to be in condition like an athlete is and to challenge themselves in the same way, to the same physical degree. "

" When I started making dances in the '60s, narrative dance was sort of off the radar screen. What was important at the time in the avant-garde was minimalism. "

" Nothing is more terrifying to me, really, than the status quo. I'll make mistakes before I keep doing something the same way. "

" Work is work; wherever I'm working, I do the best I can. If the actual dollars come from investors as opposed to taxpayers and patrons, what's the difference? "

" In those days, male dancers were a rarer breed than women. as they are still today, A good male dancer, one as strong as we were, was very difficult to come by if you couldn't afford to pay them. "

" I don't hate language. I have my own language, but I also enjoy the English language. Obviously, you don't read a lot of literature and not care about language. "

" 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. "

" I don't think politicians should be allowed into power who are not familiar with their bodies, because that's where our bottom line is. And I know that they would make totally different decisions if they felt responsible simply for their own bodies. "

" In the not-for-profit world, there can be wastefulness because there's not the desperate urgency of when you're on a clock. "

" I thought I had to make an impact on history. I had to become the greatest choreographer of my time. That was my mission. Posterity deals with us however it sees fit. But I gave it 20 years of my best shot. "

" I look for dancers who have all the technique in the world. But they must be dancers who are open-minded, who are willing to forget that they know anything. They also have to be gorgeous; they must have a clear image of themselves and strong personalities. "

" The necessity to constantly turn in an excellent performance, to be absolutely wedded to this dedication and this ideal means that as a child you're going to pay for it personally. "

" I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to do it. "

" In terms of individuals who actually inspired me, very few of the academic people that I had access to had that power over me. Maybe it's simply because I wasn't that committed to geometry. "

" Who a dancer is physically feeds into character for me. Always has. "

" What is music about? You can't listen to one era, one composer, and know what music is about. "

" There are very few critics who have historical context or authority. "

" The content and thematic materials of dance is, of itself, like boxing. You play tennis and baseball. But boxing is not a sport you play: you stand up and do it. "

" Dance is just like film in that it allows for thoughts in movement. "

" I realize that dancers have worked long and hard for standards. However, on occasion, I think that it's good to examine one's heart and ask why are we dancing. "

" People often say to me, 'I don't know anything about dance.' I say, 'Stop. You got up this morning, and you're walking. You are an expert.' "

" Judgment is not my business. Existing is my business. "

" Dance has never been a particularly easy life, and everybody knows that. "

" A dancer's life is all about repetition. "

" Desire is the first thing a modern dancer should have. Skill can be developed. But if you don't have desire as a modern dancer, forget it. "

" I'm not interested in seeing dance die. It's not to my advantage. Nor is it to our culture's advantage or anybody else's. "

" Playwrights have texts, composers have scores, painters and sculptors have the residue of those activities, and dance is traditionally an ephemeral, effervescent, here-today-gone-tomorrow kind of thing. "