Agnes de Mille Quotes

Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little.
AGNES DE MILLE

Creativity Die Faith Knowing Life Little Living Moment Next
I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The first can be cured by a night’s sleep; the second kills.
AGNES DE MILLE

Bearable Difference Fatigue Fear Night Sleep Unbearable
Theater people are always pining and agonizing because they’re afraid that they’ll be forgotten. And in America they’re quite right. They will be.
AGNES DE MILLE

Afraid Agonizing Always Aponizing Counrry Country Forgotten People Pining Quite Right Theatre
Modern dancers give a sinister portent about our times.
AGNES DE MILLE

Dance Dancer Giving Modern Sanisterm Portent Time
Then I did the simplest thing in the world. I leaned down… and kissed him. And the world cracked open.
AGNES DE MILLE

Cracked Down Kiss Kissing Learned Love Open Romantic Simplest World
I am completely absorbed by the music and the steps I choose to respond to the music.
AGNES DE MILLE

Absorbed Choose Completely Music Respond Step
What they wanted was something newly experienced, and therefore unknown and hard to attain.
AGNES DE MILLE

Attain Experienced Hard Newly Something Unknown Wanted
Ours is an upbeat, a hurried, hasty beat. It keeps pressing us to go farther, to include everything so that we can savor everything, so that we can know everything.
AGNES DE MILLE

Curiosity Farther Greed Hurried Keep Missing Our Pressing Upbeat
But remember that intent is everything. One does not just jump, one lifts into the air, one rises.
AGNES DE MILLE

Air Dance Everything Idea Intent Jump Remember Rise Wing
Living is a form of not being sure, not know what next or how… The artists never entirely knows.
AGNES DE MILLE

Artist Being Entirely Form Know Next Show Sure
Many other women have kicked higher, balanced longer, or turned faster. These are poor substitutes for passion.
AGNES DE MILLE

Balanced Ballet Dance Faster Higher Kicked Longer Passion Poor Substitute Turned Women
Find the passion. It takes great passion and great energy to do anything creative. I would go so far as to say you can’t do it without that passion.
AGNES DE MILLE

Anything Creative Energy Great Passion Take
Friends die one by one, but so, thank God, do enemies.
AGNES DE MILLE

Dead Die Enemy Friend God One Thank
The universe lies before you on the floor, in the air, in the mysterious bodies of your dancers, in your mind.
AGNES DE MILLE

Bodies Dance Dancer Floor Journey Lie Lying Mind Mysterious Universe
No white man uses his feet the way an Indian does. He talks to the earth.
AGNES DE MILLE

Earth Feet Indian Man Talk White
The creative urge is the demon that will not accept anything second rate.
AGNES DE MILLE

Accept Anything Creative Creativity Demon Passion Second
To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.
AGNES DE MILLE

Beautiful Dance Dancing Earth Glory Inspirational Powerful
Dancing is such a despised and dishonored trade that if you tell a doctor or a laywer you do choreography he’ll look at you as if you were a hummingbird.
AGNES DE MILLE

Choreographer Dance Despised Dishonoured Doctor Girl Hummingbird Lawyer Running Tell Trade
The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.
AGNES DE MILLE

Artist Dark Entirely Guess Know Leap Take Wrong
Dance constitutes a true recapturing of… freedom and childish play.
AGNES DE MILLE

Child Constitute Dance Freedom Play Recapturing True
To make up a dance, I still need, as I needed then, a pot of tea, walking space, privacy and an idea.
AGNES DE MILLE

Dance Idea Needed Pot Privacy Space Tea Walking
We can’t stand silence, because silence includes thinking. And if we thought, we would have to face ourselves.
AGNES DE MILLE

Face Include Ourselves Silence Stand Thinking Thought
Who am I?, the artist asks. And he devotes his whole life to finding out.
AGNES DE MILLE

Artist Ask Dancing Devote Finding Life Out Whole
great artists can be uncertain. Of course they are while strugggling to find solutions.
AGNES DE MILLE

Artist Coin Decision Great Solution Struggling Uncertain
I want one word on my tombstone – dancer.
AGNES DE MILLE

Dancer Dancing Tombstone Wanted Word
The acrobat is lost in a web of muscles the dancer is all but invisible in projected idea.
AGNES DE MILLE

Acrobat Area Dancer Invisible Lost Muscle Projected Web
Dancers don’t get invited to visit people. It is assumed a boy dancer will run off with the spoons and a girl with the head of the house.
AGNES DE MILLE

Assumed Dancer Girl Head House People Spoo Visit

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