In order to dance well, nothing is so important as the turning outwards of the thigh; and nothing is so natural to men as the contrary position.
Jean-Georges NoverreAt our theaters we only see feeble copies of the copies that have proceeded them, renounce that slavish routine which keeps your art in its infancy; examine everything relative to the development of talents; be original; form a style for yourselves based on your private studies; if you must copy, imitate nature, it is a noble model and never misleads those who follow it.
Jean-Georges NoverreThis art, born of genius and good taste, can become beautiful and varied to an infinite degree.
Jean-Georges NoverreIn order that our art may arrive at the degree of the sublime which I demand and hope for, it is imperative for dancers to divide their time and studies between the mind and the body, and that both become the object of their application; but, unfortunately, all is given to the latter and nothing to the former. The legs are rarely guided by the brain, and, since intelligence and taste do not reside in the feet, one often goes astray.
Jean-Georges Noverre