“My dancers must be able to do anything, and I don't care if they are black or white or purple or green. I want to help show my people how beautiful they are. I want to hold up the mirror to my audience that says this is the way people can be, this is how open people can be.” PeopleIfsWayWantHelpingShowsCareAbleBeautifulBlackWhiteAudienceMirrorsGreenDanceDon't CareI Don't CareDancerPurpleBlack Or White Author:Alvin Ailey
“During 'Saturday Night Fever' at the end of the first act dance number I tried to perform a split-jump, only I can't do them so I ended up on my ass followed by the most unsightly backward roll out of it, followed by the cast falling over in laughter and a good portion of the audience too.” InspirationalFirstsI CanEndsNightFallNumbersAudienceLaughterDanceCastsAssPortionsSplitsSaturdayFeverSaturday NightSaturday Night Fever Author:Adam Garcia
“I did not want to be a tree, a flower or a wave. In a dancer's body, we as audience must see ourselves, not the imitated behavior of everyday actions, not the phenomenon of nature, not exotic creatures from another planet, but something of the miracle that is a human being.” WantHumansBodyActionHuman BeingsAudienceTreePlanetsFlowerCreaturesBehaviorMiracleDanceEverydayWaveDancerPhenomenonExoticModern Dance Author:Martha Graham
“Feel the power of your legs, hear the orchestra playing, see the audience - anything to make the image more real. The image has to be specific. You can't just say to yourself, 'I'll do my best.' You have to have a mental blueprint of that role in your mind.” FeelsMindRealMotivationalRolesAudienceDanceLegsOrchestraBlueprints Author:Linda Hamilton
“I can't really hear the audience applause when I'm on stage. I'm totally immersed in the piece. But sometimes I get a lot of it and wonder, "Now, why did they applaud here?" If it's a white crowd, they usually applaud because they think it's a pretty movement. If it's a black crowd, it's usually because they identify with the message.” IfsThinkingI CanSometimesBlackWhiteWonderAudiencePiecesStageMovementMessagesDanceCrowdsApplause Author:Judith Jamison