24 quotes
Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.
Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body.
New York Times interview (1985)
Think of the magic of that foot, comparatively small, upon which your whole weight rests. It's a miracle, and the dance is a celebration of that miracle.
I think the reason dance has held such an ageless magic for the world is that it has been the symbol of the performance of living.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
The most brilliant scientific discoveries will in time change and perhaps grow obsolete as new scientific manifestations emerge. But art is eternal, for it reveals the inner landscape, which is the soul of man.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
I feel that the essence of dance is the expression of mankind — the landscape of the human soul. I hope that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human being can be.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder of life. This is the function of the American dance.
Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to paradise of the achievement is not easier than any other.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.
The Life and Work of Martha Graham (1991)
People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose: I was chosen to be a dancer, and, with that, you live all your life.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
To practice means to perform, in the face of all obstacles some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
To me, the body says what words cannot.
New York Times interview (1985)
The body is a sacred garment: it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honour, and with joy and with fear as well. But always, though, with blessing.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
I am absorbed in the magic of movement and light. Movement never lies. It is the magic of what I call the outer space of the imagination.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
The erotic element is life, but doesn't have to absorb you, it doesn't have to be a naughty word. It's the love of life in many ways.
New York Times interview (1985)
I believe that we learn by practice.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
The main thing, of course, always, is the fact that there is only one of you in the world, just one, and if that is not fulfilled then something has been lost. Ambition is not enough; necessity is everything.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery — what it all means…
New York Times interview (1985)
The next time you look into the mirror, just look at the way the ears rest next to the head; look at the way the hairline grows; think of all the little bones in your wrist. It is a miracle. And the dance is a celebration of that miracle.
I Am A Dancer (1952)
I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable.