Quotes from Twyla Tharp

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

It is extremely arrogant and very foolish to think that you can ever outwit your audience.

If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.

Art is an investigation.

Dance is the stepchild of the arts.

Metaphor is the lifeblood of all art.

Creativity is an act of defiance.

While most people in the arts think they have to be constantly looking forward to be edgy and creative....the real secret of creativity is to go back and remember.

if you want to create art, you'd best have a deep belief in yourself and no ulterior motives.

I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that far apart.

Art is running away without ever leaving home.

Whether or not God has kissed your brow, you still have to work. Without learning and preparation, you won't know how to harness the power of that kiss.

I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to do it.

I've always found it necessity to strip away everything but the most fundamental ways to work - the rest is style.

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.

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

My mother was the first woman in the county in Indiana where we were born, in Jay County, to have a college degree. She was educated as a pianist and she wanted to concertize, but when the war came she was married, had a family, so she started teaching.

The only thing I fear more than change is no change. The business of being static makes me nuts.

My mother was a dominant force in my life. She had a very specific idea about education, which was: you should know everything about everything. It was quite simple. There was no exclusivity, and there really was no judgment.

The formal education that I received made little sense to me.

Optimism with some experience behind it is much more energizing than plain old experience with a certain degree of cynicism.

I thought I had to make an impact on history. I had to become the greatest choreographer of my time. That was my mission. Posterity deals with us however it sees fit. But I gave it 20 years of my best shot.

In terms of individuals who actually inspired me, very few of the academic people that I had access to had that power over me. Maybe it's simply because I wasn't that committed to geometry.

Judgment is not my business. Existing is my business.