I'm still growing, still learning. I'm still open and vulnerable enough to know there's much more to be taught to me and learned by me. I hope I don't reach my pinnacle on this earth where I think I know it all.
Tap dancing is like... it's equivalent to music, not only for the African American community, but also for the world. Tap dancing is like language; it's like air: it's like everything else that we need in order to survive. I'm blessed and honored to be knowledgeable of the art form and to be a part of the art form.
Great athletes last because they let the mental do all the work. What we do as hoofers is not so much a physical strain as everybody thinks. It's more of a mental stretch.
I'm inspired by breath, by the human body - by so many things.
There are many different styles of, and approaches to, tap. My own leans towards a more intellectual view: tap dancing not just for the sake of entertainment but to educate and spark emotion.
A tapper sticks to existing routines. Whereas hoofing... a hoofer pushes the art form.
When I wake up in the morning, I just go.
Authenticity is the most important thing. You have to know where it all comes from, study who pioneered it.
The youth coming up is interested in dance now, and they're coming to the shows. That's a blessing for those of us who create.
I don't deal in terminology, I deal with expressions: colors, shapes, tones, characteristics.
I'm always inspired by music, things of that nature. Just life in general. I'm happy to be waking up and having another chance at it.
What we're looking for at my school is intellectuals. People who want to talk about the art and be knowledgeable about it. People who want to know the history. Not everybody needs to be performing.
When you think about John Coltrane, in my opinion - and I think I share this opinion with a lot of people - his approach to music changed other people's approach to music.
My show mode is that the dressing room is like going into the cockpit. Going down the stairs is like going on the runway, and once we begin performing, it's flight time. I'm just floatin' on that stage.
Other dances are like languages, like French or Spanish, but my steps are slang, and slang is always changing.
Every performance is different because I'm different; my mood is different.
We need these figures who don't exactly go against the grain but create a new grain.
The Nicholas Brothers were the best tap-dancers. I'm not talking about their flash-dancing, I'm talking about tap-dancing. They were really saying something with their feet.
I'm committed to the purity of my art form.
There's a whole new generation who know about tap dancing thanks to 'Happy Feet.'
