89 Quotes by Judith Jamison

Concert dance is the hardest kind of dance. We tour constantly, around the world, year in and year out. It just doesn't work for everybody. It's the lifestyle, it's the stamina, it's the love, it's the dedication, it's the commitment, it's all those words.

Excellence is the name of the game...

I've always felt that complement of opposites: body and soul, solitude and companionship, and in the dance studio, contraction and release, rise and fall.

I've been in a competitive situation almost all my life. I've been having a competition with myself and trying to be the best I could be.

So many people dwell on negativity and I've survived by ignoring it: it dims your light and it's harder each time to turn the power up again.

I'm moved by contraries, by opposites, the strength that was my mother's eyes, the beauty of my father's hands.

I've danced all over the world, and people are people. We cannot cut off from each other in life. In order to lead, you can't do that.

Maybe its a generational thing, but I never wanted to be the best black dancer in the world. I just wanted to be the best.

I can't really hear the audience applause when I'm on stage. I'm totally immersed in the piece. But sometimes I get a lot of it and wonder, "Now, why did they applaud here?" If it's a white crowd, they usually applaud because they think it's a pretty movement. If it's a black crowd, it's usually because they identify with the message.