Never worry that rote exercises aimed at developing skills will suffocate creativity. At the same time, it's important to recognize that demonstrating great technique is not the same as being creative.

Obligation is a flimsy base for creativity, way down the list behind passion, courage, instinct, and the desire to do something great.

In creative endeavors luck is a skill.

It was not until I had graduated from college that I made a professional commitment to it. Frankly, I didn't think it wise. I was my own interior parental force, and it's very difficult to justify a profession as a dancer.

The irony of multitasking is that it's exhausting: when you're doing two or three things simultaneously, you use more energy than the sum of energy required to do each task independently. You're also cheating yourself because your're not doing anything excellently. You're compromising your virtuosity. In the words of T. S. Elliot, you're 'distracted from distractions by distractions'.

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

We get into ruts when we run with the first idea that pops into our head, not the last one.