41 Martha Graham Quotes About Life (DANCE)

Top 10 Most Famous Martha Graham Quotes (BEST)

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men. — Fire is the test of **gold**; adversity, of strong men.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion. — Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their **passion**.

What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.

'Age' is the acceptance of a term of years. But maturity is the glory of years. — ‘Age’ is the **acceptance** of a term of years. But **maturity** is the glory of years.

“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. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
Martha Graham

You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.

All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.

People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with that, you live all your life.

Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.

21 Martha Graham Quotes About Dancing and Practicing (SUCCESS)

I feel that the essence of dance is the expression of man - the landscape of his soul. — I feel that the essence of dance is the expression of man – the landscape of his soul.

I hope that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human can be. — I **hope** that every dance I do reveals something of myself or some wonderful thing a human can be.

Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. — 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.

There is a fatigue so great that the body cries, even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration; there are daily small deaths.

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

Theater is a verb before it is a noun, an act before it is a place.

Think of the magic of the foot, comparatively small, upon which your whole weight rests. It's a miracle and the dance is a celebration of that miracle. — Think of the magic of the foot, comparatively small, upon which your whole weight rests. It’s a miracle and the dance is a celebration of that **miracle**.

No artist is ahead of his time. He is the time. It is just that others are behind the time. — No artist is ahead of his **time**. He is the time. It is just that others are behind the time.

Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul's weather to all who can read it. — Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it.

I am a dancer. I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living…

Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery.

Nothing is more revealing than movement.

Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability. — Dance is **communication**, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability.

The function of the body and the awareness of the body results in dance and you become a dancer, not just a human being.

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

Our arms start from the back because they were once wings.

At the time I started in ballet they were dancing 'The Spirit of Champagne' on pointe, in Paris. I thought, 'I don't want to dance the spirit of champagne, I want to drink it!' — At the time I started in ballet they were dancing ‘The Spirit of Champagne’ on pointe, in Paris. I thought, ‘I don’t want to dance the spirit of champagne, I want to drink it!’

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

10 Inspirational Martha Graham Quotes on Life (MOTIVATION)

“All things I do are in every woman. Every woman is Medea. Every woman is Jocasta. There comes a time when a woman is a mother to her husband. Clytemnestra is every woman when she kills.”
Martha Graham

There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.

You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open… No artist is pleased.

First we have to believe, and then we believe.

Looking at the past is like lolling in a rocking chair. It is so relaxing and you can rock back and forth on the porch, and never go forward.

To me, a building - if it's beautiful - is the love of one man, he's made it out of his love for space, materials, things like that. — To me, a building – if it’s beautiful – is the love of one man, he’s made it out of his love for space, materials, things like that.

The body is a sacred garment. It's your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor. — The body is a sacred garment. It’s your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with **honor**.

“It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”
Martha Graham

Martha Graham Short Biography

Born on 11 May 1894 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, Martha Graham is a dancer and choreographer with 50 years of experience in the dance world.

In 1916 Graham began her studies at the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and stayed until 1923.

Graham was employed by Eastman School of Music in 1925. During her time at Eastman School, Graham and Rouben Mamoulin, the head of the school, produced a two-color short film entitled The Flute of Krishna.

After leaving Eastman School of Music, Graham established the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in 1926. In April of that year, she produced her first solo concert.

Graham’s technique “Contraction and Release” became a pioneering principle that is still used in modern dance to this day.

Graham’s most popular work, Appalachian Spring, was released in 1944.

Further Reading: