The body says what words cannot.
Martha GrahamRead
Dancers today can do anything; the technique is phenomenal. The passion and the meaning to their movement can be another thing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Dancers possess exceptional technical skills, but true artistry requires passion and meaning in their movements.
Martha Graham emphasizes that while modern dancers are trained with incredible techniques, the essence of their art lies in the depth of passion and emotional significance they bring to their performances. This highlights the distinction between mere technical ability and the ability to convey profound meaning through movement.
Themes
DanceArtistryPassionTechniqueMovement
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a dance class to inspire students to connect emotionally with their movements.
More from Martha Graham
All quotes βNobody cares if you can't dance well.
Martha GrahamRead
Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it.
Martha GrahamRead
What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
Martha GrahamRead
No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
Martha GrahamRead
The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.
Martha GrahamRead
Similar quotes
What do dancers think of Fred Astaire? It's no secret. We hate him. He gives us a complex because he's too perfect. His perfection is an absurdity. It's too hard to face.
Mikhail BaryshnikovRead
Whoever does not visit Paris regularly will never really be elegant.
Honore De BalzacRead
His belief in the power of music to convey ideas - not just entertain - has filtered down to musicians in every field, from alt-rock to hip-hop, from Bruce Springsteen and U2 to Arcade Fire and Kanye West. Popular music is different because of Johnny Cash.
Robert HilburnRead
The musician is perhaps the most modest of animals, but he is also the proudest. It is he who invented the sublime art of ruining poetry.
Erik SatieRead
I intend to be making films until I'm an old lady. So, if God willing I get there, I need to create a paradigm for myself where I can make it regardless of whether or not they still like what I'm making.
Ava DuvernayRead
I've played guitar in so many different styles, and I want to revisit them all.
Jimmy PageRead