When They Do Let Them Sustain On

I Arrived In Hollywood Twenty Pounds Overweight And As Strong As An Ox. But If I Put On A White Tails And Tux Like Fred Astaire, I Still Looked Like A Truck Driver.

I Wanted To Invent Some Kind Of American Dance That Was Danced To The Music That I Grew Up On: Cole Porter And Rodgers And Hart And Irving Berlin. So I Evolved A Style That Certainly Didn't Catch On Right Away - But I Had Some Good Mentors In New York Who Encouraged Me.

In The 1930s There Was This Tendency In Hollywood To Portray Everyone As Rich. Even If They Were Doing A Poor Man's Dance, They Were All So Nicely Clothed, Gowned, Coiffured. That's Why I Decided To Wear White Socks, Loafers, T-shirts, And Blue Jeans. I Had A Sociopolitical Context In Front Of Me: I Was A Child Of The Depression Who Danced In A Way That Would Represent The Common Man.

I Think Twyla [tharp] Has A Lot To Say. The Great Thing About Twyla Is That She Continues To Explore.

The Future Of Dance Will Always Be Tied Up With The Public's Acceptance Of The Star. If They Accept The Star, Then They'll Accept The Dance.