Twyla G Quotes & Sayings

Schubert had arguably the same melodic gift as Mozart, but even less support. He didn't have the early exposure, never got to travel anywhere, and yet generated and amassed a body of work that grew and developed and is very profound. — Twyla Tharp

I do at least 75 push-ups a day. — Twyla Tharp

I have to feel that each thing I've learned I can push to another point next time. I'm not very good with repetition. I would rather not work than feel that repetition is the order of the day. — Twyla Tharp

Modern dancers should be doing things no one else is doing, and it should come from the gut. — Twyla Tharp

Obligation is a flimsy base for creativity, way down the list behind passion, courage, instinct, and the desire to do something great. — Twyla Tharp

I've always thought my creative life began the moment my mother called me Twyla. — Twyla Tharp

When creativity has become your habit; when you've learned to manage time, resources, expectations, and the demands of others; when you understand the value and place of validation, continuity, and purity of purpose, then you're on the way to an artist's ultimate goal; the achievement of mastery. — Twyla Tharp

The great ones never take fundamentals for granted. — Twyla Tharp

I can't emphasize this idea enough. Getting involved with your collaborator's problems almost always distracts you from your own. That can be tempting. That can be a relief. But it usually leads to disaster. — Twyla Tharp

I had to become the greatest choreographer of my time. That was my mission, and that's what I set out to do. — Twyla Tharp

You don't have a really good idea until you combine two little ideas. — Twyla Tharp

When dancing is right, the movement possesss a logic common to us all, an inevitability that takes it beyond the personal and egocentric and makes of it classical art. — Twyla Tharp

I never studied with Balanchine, but his work was very important to me. — Twyla Tharp

In order to be creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative. — Twyla Tharp

Here's how I learned to improvise: I played some music in the studio and I started to move. It sounds obvious, but I wonder how many people, whatever their medium, appreciate the gift of improvisation. It's your one opportunity in life to be completely free, with no responsibilities and no consequences. You don't have to be good or even interesting. It's you alone, with no one watching or judging. If anything comes of it, you decide whether the world gets to see it. In essence, you are giving yourself permission to daydream during working hours. — Twyla Tharp

Balzac loved courtesans. They were independent women, and in the 19th century, that was a breed that was just evolving. — Twyla Tharp

I also had a will that let me eliminate everything that stood in the way of my becoming the best dancer I could be. By a gradual process ... (I) had invested every bit of my dreams, my hopes, my energies in defining myself as a dancer. — Twyla Tharp

It was not until I had graduated from college that I made a professional commitment to it. Frankly, I didn't think it wise. I was my own interior parental force, and it's very difficult to justify a profession as a dancer. — Twyla Tharp

To survive, you've got to keep wheedling your way. You can't just sit there and fight against odds when it's not going to work. You have to turn a corner, dig a hole, go through a tunnel - and find a way to keep moving. — Twyla Tharp

Doing is better than not doing, and if you do something badly you'll learn to do it better. — Twyla Tharp

You only need one good reason to commit to an idea, not four hundred. But if you have four hundred reasons to say yes and one reason to say no, the answer is probably no. — Twyla Tharp

Remember this when you're struggling for a big idea. You're much better off scratching for a small one. — Twyla Tharp

Generosity is luck going in the opposite direction, away from you. If you're generous to someone, if you do something to help him out, you are in effect making him lucky. This is important. It's like inviting yourself into a community of good fortune. — Twyla Tharp

You don't get lucky without preparation, and there's no sense in being prepared if you're not open to the possibility of a glorious accident. — Twyla Tharp

Broadway has some very tight expectations as to what a show is. — Twyla Tharp

Living had little use for me other than how it could be funneled into dance. — Twyla Tharp

Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Everything is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity. But without proper preparation, I cannot see it, retain it, and use it. — Twyla Tharp

Milos Forman is a great director, Jim Brooks is a wonderful writer and director. — Twyla Tharp

Counterpoint is a component that gives real energy, and it is about optimism. — Twyla Tharp

I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren. — Twyla Tharp