Quotes

Quote 436 of 521

When a dancer comes onstage, he is not just a blank slate that the
choreographer has written on.  Behind him he has all the decisions he
has made in life. ... Each time, he has chosen, and in what he is
onstage you see the result of those choices.  You are looking at the
person he is, the person who, at this point he cannot help but be. ...
Exceptional dancers, in my experience, are also exceptional people,
people with an <em>attitude</em> toward life, a kind of quest, and an
internal quality.  They know who they are, and they show this to you,
willingly.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, as quoted in "Loners," by Joan
		   Acocella, the <cite>New Yorker</cite>, 2005-12-12,
		   p. 114.

Tags: blankslate internalquality choreographer dancers dancer lt attitude choices decisions