Quotes by

Martha Graham

We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder of life. This is the function of the American dance. – Martha Graham

Nothing is more revealing than movement. – Martha Graham

I did not want to be a tree, a flower or a wave. In a dancers body, we as audience must see ourselves, not the imitated behavior of everyday actions, not the phenomenon of nature, not exotic creatures from another planet, but something of the miracle that is a human being. – Martha Graham

To me, a building – if its beautiful – is the love of one man, hes made it out of his love for space, materials, things like that. – Martha Graham

Age is the acceptance of a term of years. But maturity is the glory of years. – Martha Graham

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. – Martha Graham

Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. – Martha Graham

We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. – Martha Graham

Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired. – Martha Graham

The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body. – Martha Graham

You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out. – Martha Graham

Dancers are the messengers of the gods. – Martha Graham

In a dancer, there is a reverence for such forgotten things as the miracle of the small beautiful bones and their delicate strength. – Martha Graham

Dance is the hidden language of the soul. – Martha Graham

Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery. – Martha Graham

Dance is a song of the body. Either of joy or pain. – Martha Graham

The body never lies. – Martha Graham

The body is a sacred garment. – Martha Graham

Misery is a communicable disease. – Martha Graham