I dance not to entertain but to help people better understand each other. Because through dance I have experienced the wordless joy of freedom, I seek it more fully now for my people and for all people everywhere.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the power of dance as a means of communication and understanding among people.
Pearl Primus expresses that her passion for dance transcends mere entertainment; it serves as a profound medium to foster understanding and connection among individuals. Through her own experiences of joy and freedom in dance, she aims to share that liberating essence with people universally, advocating for unity and empathy across cultural and social boundaries.
In practice
In a speech at a cultural festival, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of art in fostering community.
I just wanted to go to New York and be on Broadway, but then I was accepted by Juilliard, where they trained me in classical voice. It was great in the end, but at the time, I thought, 'What am I doing here? This is not my path.' But it was absolutely my path and where I was meant to be.
The crown of literature is poetry.
The calling of art is to extract us from our daily reality, to bring us to a hidden truth that's difficult to access - to a level that's not material but spiritual.
Composing a concert is like composing a menu.... If you start with light pieces and play a 45-minute sonata after the interlude, it's like starting dinner with hors d'oeuvres and dessert and finishing with a Châteaubriand and vegetables.
The language of art is celestial in origin and can only be understood by the chosen.
To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.
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