The beauty to which the Dance ought to aspire is not dependent upon taste or pleasure, but is founded on the immutable laws of Nature.

- August Bournonville

The art of Mime encompasses all the feelings of the soul. The Dance, on the other hand, is essentially an expression of joy, a desire to follow the r…

- August Bournonville

It is not so much upon the number of exercises, as the care with which they are done, that progreses and skill depend.

- August Bournonville

Mannerism is not character, and affectation is the avowed enemy of grace. Every dancer ought to regard his laborious art as a link in the chain of be…

- August Bournonville

Joy is a strength; intoxication, a weakness.

- August Bournonville

The height of artistic skill is to know how to conceal the mechanical effort and strain beneath harmonious calm.

- August Bournonville

The Dance is an art because it demands vocation, knowledge, and ability.

- August Bournonville

It is a fine art because it strives for an ideal, not only in plastic but also in lyrical respect.

- August Bournonville

The beauty to which the Dance ought to aspire

- August Bournonville