The future of dance will always be tied up with the public's acceptance of the star. If they accept the star, then they'll accept the dance.

Fred Astaire represented the aristocracy, I represented the proletariat.

Like an athlete, [dance] is an everyday job. You have to stay in shape - unless you just want to loaf through a couple of hoofing routines. But that just didn't satisfy me.

Kids talk to me and say they want to do musicals again because they've studied the tapes of the old films. We didn't have that. We thought once we had made it, even on film, it was gone except for the archives.

Mentally, I write myself a little story. Of course, sometimes you have a song that says, "Do that." My best example is Singin' in the Rain. Arthur Freed had insisted that the song should be in the picture, but he was very anxious about it.

I got started dancing because I knew it was one way to meet girls.

When they do let them sustain on screen from head to toe, though, then you know they must think the person is a good dancer.