There would never have been a British Ballet without Diaghilev. He had a wonderful influence

- Ninette De Valois

Hardly any generation wants to take the whole of the last generation, it just wants to take its best bits.

- Ninette De Valois

First of all, the most important, that is to learn everything good that has survived from other times, and carefully to watch the bad - and throw it …

- Ninette De Valois

You cannot create genius. All you can do is nurture it.

- Ninette De Valois

Somebody must always be doing something new, or life would get very dull.

- Ninette De Valois

As time goes on, all schools only get left alive if they have found something special themselves.

- Ninette De Valois

Nothing is done easily, first have the thing, then the thing has a success, then all sorts of difficulties arise through the success.

- Ninette De Valois

You never advance without losing something en passant... you lose it because you're paying so much attention to the new thing.

- Ninette De Valois

The smile is the dance of the face - the dance is the smile of the limbs.

- Ninette De Valois