People think I was born in top hat and tails.

I'm just a hoofer with a spare set of tails.

I have never had anything that I can remember in the business - and that includes all the movies and the stage shows and everything - that I didn't enjoy. I didn't like some of the small-time vaudeville, because we weren't going on and getting better. Aside from that, I didn't dislike anything.

For ballroom dancing, remember that your partners have their own distinctive styles also. Cultivate flexibility. Be able to adapt your style to that of your partner. In doing so, you are not surrendering your individuality, but blending it with that of your partner.

I am bit sending messages with my feet. All I ever wanted was not to come up empty. I did it for the dough and the old applause.

If the dance is right, there shouldn't be a single superfluous movement.

I don't remember anybody ever pointing me out as a dancing prodigy, but I played a not bad second base.