The body says what words cannot.
Martha GrahamRead
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.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the beauty and significance of the human foot in dance, celebrating both its functionality and the artistry it brings.
Martha Graham highlights the often-overlooked wonder of the human foot, which, despite being a small part of the body, supports our entire weight and enables movement. The act of dancing is portrayed as a joyous celebration of this miraculous ability, where every step becomes a tribute to the capabilities of our bodies.
In practice
Using this quote during a dance recital to inspire performers.
The body says what words cannot.
Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it.
What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.
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.
The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.
To insist on purity is to baptize instinct, to humanize art, and to deify personality.
Sculpture is something you bump into when you back up to look at a painting.
There is a majesty in simplicity.
To any artist, worthy of the name, all in nature is beautiful, because his eyes, fearlessly accepting all exterior truth, read there, as in an open book, all the inner truth.
My next book - each one while I'm working on it - dances in my mind and thrills me at every turn. If it didn't, why would I write it?
Writing is very improvisational. It's like trying to fix a broken sewing machine with safety pins and rubber bands. A lot of tinkering.
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