I understand things that are American, for better or worse.

While most people in the arts think they have to be constantly looking forward to be edgy and creative....the real secret of creativity is to go back and remember.

I have the wherewithal to challenge myself for my entire life. That's a great gift.

I've always thought my creative life began the moment my mother called me Twyla.

That's what improvising is like for me. There's no tollbooth between my impulse and my action.

I also had a will that let me eliminate everything that stood in the way of my becoming the best dancer I could be. By a gradual process... (I) had invested every bit of my dreams, my hopes, my energies in defining myself as a dancer.

No one is born with skill. It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that's both painstaking and rewarding. And it takes time.