In the 1930s there was this tendency in Hollywood to portray everyone as rich. Even if they were doing a poor man's dance, they were all so nicely clothed, gowned, coiffured. That's why I decided to wear white socks, loafers, T-shirts, and blue jeans. I had a sociopolitical context in front of me: I was a child of the Depression who danced in a way that would represent the common man.

At 14 I discovered girls. At that time dancing was the only way you could put your arm around the girl. Dancing was courtship. Only later did I discover that you dance joy. You dance love. You dance dreams.

Come on with the rain / I’ve a smile on my face.

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.

If Fred Astaire is the Cary Grant of dance, I'm the Marlon Brando.

I wanted to do new things with dance, adapt it to the motion picture medium.

There's nothing revolutionary about Saturday Night Fever . You can see the same kind of movement at your local disco.