Alvin Ailey Dan Quotations

Its roots are in American Negro culture, which is part of the whole country's heritage, ... But the dance speaks to everyone. ... Otherwise it wouldn't work.

No matter what you write or choreograph, you feel it is not enough.

I always want to have more dancers in my company.

I'm attracted to long-legged girls with long arms and a little head.

Choreography is mentally draining, but there's a pleasure in getting into the studio with the dancers and the music.

Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.

My dancers must be able to do anything, and I don't care if they are black or white or purple or green. I want to help show my people how beautiful they are. I want to hold up the mirror to my audience that says this is the way people can be, this is how open people can be.

The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it's with you all the time.

Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.

All of these dancers are dancers who are on the verge of their careers, so to speak. They're here to hone their artistry and make the transition from the classroom to the stage.

Nothing personal; I just don't have people over.

No matter what you write or choreograph, you feel it's not enough.

In this business, life is one long fund-raising effort.