Jazz Dance Quotes

I did jazz dance for a few years. ~ Sharon Van Etten

Every dance you make belongs to you. It is part of your collection. When you think of it like that, you'll want to make your next routine the best you've ever made! ~ Torron-Lee Dewar

Now, the instrumentation in the jazz band and the jazz dance band has gone through many evolutions. For instance, in the 'twenties the tradition was two or three saxophones. ~ Gerry Mulligan

My years of ballet and jazz dance lessons didn't make me any more graceful - they just helped keep me from bumping into the furniture on stage. ~ Toni Tennille

I'm the first one out on the dance floor. In college I had to take jazz, ballet and tap dancing, but, before that, it was just social. ~ Miles Teller

I can only be me. I do what I do, I'm not a jazz player ... I don't play jazz standards, at least not in any recognizable way. It's not my turf but I have plenty of respect for that style of playing. ~ Jorma Kaukonen

I just like to hop up on the dance floor and do my thing. ~ Kyle Massey

Byzantium

The unpurged images of day recede;
The Emperor's drunken soldiery are abed;
Night resonance recedes, night-walkers' song
After great cathedral gong;
A starlit or a moonlit dome disdains
All that man is,
All mere complexities,
The fury and the mire of human veins.

Before me floats an image, man or shade,
Shade more than man, more image than a shade;
For Hades' bobbin bound in mummy-cloth
May unwind the winding path;
A mouth that has no moisture and no breath
Breathless mouths may summon;
I hail the superhuman;
I call it death-in-life and life-in-death.

Miracle, bird or golden handiwork,
More miracle than bird or handiwork,
Planted on the starlit golden bough,
Can like the cocks of Hades crow,
Or, by the moon embittered, scorn aloud
In glory of changeless metal
Common bird or petal
And all complexities of mire or blood.

At midnight on the Emperor's pavement flit
Flames that no faggot feeds, nor steel has lit,
Nor storm disturbs, flames begotten of flame,
Where blood-begotten spirits come
And all complexities of fury leave,
Dying into a dance,
An agony of trance,
An agony of flame that cannot singe a sleeve.

Astraddle on the dolphin's mire and blood,
Spirit after spirit! The smithies break the flood,
The golden smithies of the Emperor!
Marbles of the dancing floo ~ W.B. Yeats

I'm not a jazz singer, blues singer or country singer. I'm a singer that can sing rhythm & blues, that can sing jazz, that can sing country. There's a big difference. In other words, I'm not a specialist. ~ Ray Charles

When you dance, your whole body dances, your skin and bones, your soul, The tips of your fingers and the roots of your hair. When you stop dancing you stop living. ~ Chloe Thurlow

Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart. ~ Martha Graham

A dancer differeth from a madman only in length of time; one is mad so long as he liveth, the other while he danceth. ~ Alphonsus Liguori

I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced. ~ Gerald Early

When melodies and chord changes are masterfully combined, a grand movement takes over our entire body, awakening heart, nerves, and emotions with a primitive force. One can see it in the ancient dance of the enchantress: her hypnotic jingling of costume, her trance to appease the gods. ~ Joshua Emmet

How amazing to go to a gig thinking of nothing but how loud you will shout; how hard you will dance; how much you will sweat; how tightly you will hug your friends, as your favourite song plays. How amazing to react to music in the way music wants you - to become an ecstatic animal. ~ Caitlin Moran

I fear I may have misrepresented myself previously," said Caroline, "for I, too, enjoy dancing, given the right partner. Unhappily, I do not often encounter the opportunity to dance with the person I might wish to." Here she held Elizabeth's gaze with seeming intent before adding: "Good day, Miss Eliza."

And then, with a slight bow that would have done many a gentleman proud, she preceded her brother and sister from the room. ~ Kate Christie

Whenever you need to win a situation - talk about jazz, Johanna. It confuses people. ~ Caitlin Moran

Dance is holy, sexual, and it's a way of being very powerful and a little dangerous without being violent. ~ Eve Ensler

If we succumb to fear, we start holding back, and do that all-to-common dance of getting close, then pulling away. When we remember that our safe harbor depends on our awareness and honesty, we're less likely to make internal compromises, put on masks, or act like a chameleon to attract a partner or keep a hurtful relationship together. If we live by truth, we may have pain, but we will always rest securely in ourselves. ~ Charlotte Kasl

The fires of night
through distance dance
ghosts who still know how to sing ~ Tamara Rendell

I was forced to go to Cotillion when I was in seventh grade. So I learned what fork is what and dance steps. ~ Chris Black

I think that 'Flesh and Bone' represents the dance world very authentically. There's always this aspect of drama put on top of it, and it's showcasing the problems of the dance world, but I've had experiences in reality that were written into the show. ~ Sarah Hay

Actors have to make you believe that it's happening for the first time and all that jazz and make it human and at the same time entertain you. ~ Tom Sizemore

If you can, dance on the edge play with the chaos, uncertainty, and new possibilities. ~ Amit Ray

Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because I haven't lived that moment yet. I always feel very insecure and I get very excited. ~ Suzanne Farrell

People are getting record deals and they can barely sing. We have these new terms for artists that can dance, but they can't sing. ~ Warryn Campbell

Here in New Orleans, what a lot of the musical families do - and this is a romantic concept on my part - is they teach their kids to tap dance first. Then after tap dance, you learn piano, and after piano, you get to pick between all the instruments that are out there. ~ Dave Pirner

his life a constant uphill battle. No matter how hard he worked or how much he followed the rules, nothing ever changed, his life a monotonous country two-step. Quick, quick, slow, slow, run, run, walk, walk, a tedious, repetitive dance that never ended in a glorious crescendo. ~ Julia Bramer

He took comfort in the neon signs, the wild strands of jazz creeping out of clubs whenever happy swells of people pushed through the doors in their finery. ~ Libba Bray

I grew up in the dance school my mother owned, and I see everything in body shapes, everything visual. ~ Dawn Angelique

It's not that I wanted to be an actor; it's that I didn't want to be a dancer! I was trained in traditional Chinese dance, and after working so hard it seemed unfair to just disappear into a group. ~ Ziyi Zhang

The effort of learning. It's the same when you approach any new skill or technique, from a dance step to driving a car. The effort of learning stops you, at first, from doing it well. ~ Antony Sher

I would urge a young player to listen to Charlie Christians' sense of time ... I'll never forget listening to my father (Bucky Pizzarelli) and Tal Farlow playing Christians' 'Solo Flight' backstage at a gig ... that's when it hit me how big of an effect Christian had on jazz guitar. 'Solo Flight' was like the gospel ... ~ John Pizzarelli

Dance halls were where young men and women conducted their courtships, and most had one clear objective: to find a spouse. Mercedes was an exception. The last thing on her mind was to find a soulmate ... When she went out on a Friday and Saturday night she had no desire for anything beyond the life-enhancing thrill of the dance. ~ Victoria Hislop

Smoke fills the room, gray and sylphlike, lovely in its deadly grace. It trails into the fire and forms what appear to be wings - black and magnificent. A man's silhouette fills out the image, two arms reaching for me.
Morpheus, or a mirage?
My mind trips back to our dance across the starlit sky in Wonderland, how amazing it felt to be so free. What would it feel like to dance with him in the middle of a blazing inferno, surrounded by an endless power that breathes and grows at our will? ~ A.G. Howard

I saw myself, sharply, as a wanderer, an adventurer, rocking through the world, unanchored.
[ ... ]
The wind of my life was blowing me away.
[ ... ]
I take the blue envelope ... and tear it slowly into many pieces, watching them dance in the wind, watching the wind carry them away. Yet as I turn and begin walking toward the waiting people, the wind blows some of them back on me. ~ James Baldwin

You know this girl.
Her hair is neither long nor short nor light nor dark. She parts it precisely in the middle.
She sits precisely in the middle of the classroom, and when she used to ride the school bus, she sat precisely in the middle of that, too.
She joins clubs, but is never the president of them. Sometimes she is the secretary; usually, just a member. When asked, she has been known to paints sets for the school play.
She always has a date to the dance, but is never anyone's first choice. In point of fact, she's nobody's first choice for anything. Her best friend became her best friend when another girl moved away.
She has a group of girls she eats lunch with every day, but God, how they bore her. Sometimes, when she can't stand it anymore, she eats in the library instead. Truth be told, she prefers books to people, and the librarian always seems happy to see her.
She knows there are other people who have it worse - she isn't poor or ugly or friendless or teased. Of course, she's also aware that the reason no one teases is because no one ever notices her.
This isn't to say she doesn't have qualities.
She is pretty, maybe, if anyone would bother to look. And she gets good enough grades. And she doesn't drink and drive. And she says NO to drugs. And she is always where she says she will be. And she calls when she's going to be late. And she feels a little, just a little, dead inside.
She thinks, You think you know me, but you d ~ Gabrielle Zevin

I trained in martial arts and wanted to become a UFC fighter. That was my goal. I only really learned how to dance three weeks prior to making 'Step Up Revolution.' Dancing will always be fun, but MMA is something I'll never give up. I will eventually get back in the octagon and be fighting professionally again. ~ Ryan Guzman

The obsessions of others are opaque to the unobsessed, and thus easy to mock. NASCAR, jazz, baseball, roses, poetry, quilts, fishing. If we're lucky, we all have at least one. ~ Roberta Smith

The Europeans look down on raising your hands. They don't like the end-zone dance. I think that's unfortunate. That feeling - the finish line, the last couple of meters - is what motivates me. ~ Lance Armstrong

He didn't want to admit that his daughter was something more now. I raised my hand guiding one of Nona's lawn ornaments across the lawn. Making it dance.
"Hope," Dad warned from inside.
I dropped it on the lawn. "Such a party pooper. ~ Holly Hood

I usually like to get people in because I don't have a band or anything. In cities where I have friends, I try to get them to come out and dance for me. ~ Grimes

Pets bring vital energy to our homes and lives. Pets communicate many messages about love and connection. Care tenderly for all pets throughout their precious lives. The interspecies dance of love softens and expands the heart. ~ Laura Staley

I listen to old jazz and classical music, and that's it. ~ Kenny G

Street performances?"

"A little singing. A little martial arts. Some interpretive dance."

"Wow."

"I know! The Portuguese have taste. ~ Nico And Gleeson Hedge

Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear,
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.

*Oh, she shows the torches how to burn bright! She stands out against the darkness like a jeweled earring hanging against the cheek of an African. Her beauty is too good for this world; she's too beautiful to die and be buried. She outshines the other women like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows. When this dance is over, I'll see where she stands, and then I'll touch her hand with my rough and ugly one. Did my heart ever love anyone before this moment? My eyes were liars, then, because I never saw true beauty before tonight.* ~ William Shakespeare

Melissa Barak, an ex-City Ballet dancer and sometime choreographer, has put together an unspeakably dopey and incompetent mess called 'Call Me Ben,' combining ultra-generic dance, terrible dialogue and disastrous storytelling, about the founding of Las Vegas by the gangster Bugsy Siegel, who insists, violently, on being addressed as 'Ben.' ~ Robert Gottlieb

Everything you do with a horse is a dance, ~ Buck Brannaman

I grew up in the funk, rock and roll, blues and r&b tradition, and I came to this thing we call jazz later. And I came to improvise music from the standpoint of jazz; I was improvising, but within these other genres of music. ~ Hamid Drake

They always want to sell me as a hard bopper. ~ Freddie Hubbard

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be jazz. ~ Sonny Rollins