Top 66 Ann Reinking Quotes

I want people to know I’m a good actress.

Every step is basically a word, especially with musical theatre, because you’re not doing it for dance’s sake, you’re promoting a story – and, more than that, a moral. You’re propelling a story.

It’s hard to dance after a certain age. All those athletic things – like looking up at my kneecaps – they’re just not there anymore.

Students ask me what is the best advice you could give me? And I say, ‘Your mother’s right.’

You have to have tunnel vision as a dancer to get to where you’re going. But once you get there, you have to save yourself by spreading your horizons. It’s the paradox of this profession. The very thing that makes you very good will destroy you.

It’s to your advantage to work your brain as well as your body. The rest is up to fate.

I remember telling my dad, ‘I’m working 14- to 16-hour days and I don’t care. I can’t wait to get back to work.’

I wanted a way to pass on all the gifts, all the instruction that I’ve been given.

One of the things that made Bob so unique and wonderful is that he had a genuine style, like Balanchine, like de Mille.

I’d announced when I was 13 that I wanted to go to New York instead of college – that was quite a disaster, but it gave my parents plenty of time to get conditioned that after finishing school I really was determined.

Often when you have less to work with, you do more.

I think of myself, basically, as a very practical person in black bugle beads.

I like to stretch myself, and playing a dance-hall hostess is quite a stretch, but I feel comfortable with it.

It was sad to leave ‘Pippin’ because it was a kind of inspirational turning point in my life. But it was time to move on.

When I did ‘Goodtime Charley’ that helped a great deal, but ‘Dancin’ was such a huge hit. It catapulted me in to being a consistent principal to count on.

I would love to be proud of my life, to look back and say, I did a good job, that I strive for quality.

It’s all cyclical. Sometimes things just come in packs. At one point you had this collection of great choreographers where you would see eight bars and you would know definitely who did it.

I’m used to things not coming in the packages you expect.

Ingenue parts are plentiful. And once you get old, they’ll start hiring you again for character parts. But the middle years are tough.

Once a star… No matter what, there’s something there, they give you something that’s special.

I like meeting people from other walks of life and finding out about other worlds, and knowing that I’m fairly adept at one world and really stupid in many others.

Something can be said for quitting for a little while. You can get completely drained as a performer and creator. You have to fill back up.

Dance saves lives.

The human spirit is the greatest thing on earth.

If you can’t trust, it’s harder to love and if you can’t love it’s harder to be happy.

I was up for parts in ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and ‘Three’s Company,’ but other people got them. At the time I was very disappointed because I knew the shows would be tremendous hits. But if I had done either I would not have done the following: ‘Chorus Line,’ ‘Dancin’,’ ‘Chicago,’ ‘Movie Movie,’ ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘Annie.’

I have a wonderful husband, sportswriter Peter Talbert.

The odd thing about Bob is that even though he’s known as really taking chances and being very sensual, he was also a very moral man.

One of the reasons I like to teach is that I like to pass things on. That’s an unspoken law of show business.

I loved ‘Cabaret.’ I loved what it had to say and the whole style and brilliance of the book. It was my first time performing Fred Ebb and John Kander’s work. They took risks. Even when their shows are fun and funny, they are about very serious issues.

The Fosse technique really does have to have a delicacy and an elegance to it.

For theater I am like a long-distance runner. For movies I am a sprinter! Same playing field, different approach.

Bob’s work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.

Herb was a great husband.

I came to New York with $500. That was a lot of money because my allowance was 50 cents.

The joy is in the work. The travel is the dues you pay.

The whole gist of ‘All That Jazz’ is Faustian. It’s about a man who sells his soul to show business – which Bob didn’t do. He understood the dangers of glamour and falling into that kind of life.

The guest artists pass on not only their experiences but also the pitfalls.

I enjoy YouTube like everyone else.

Creativity is not a mysterious thing, it’s a historical thing.

It’s a good idea to have your career intact and then have children.

You get to a certain point in your life and you think you can do it all. And then you do do it all, and then you have to top yourself.

Broadway is so defeating for the most part that it doesn’t encourage people to be as tenacious as they should be.

I always had my feet in two places when I was doing amateur dance in Seattle.

If you’re a woman and you’re working, you’re already set up for conflict.

You know, theater is either heaven or hell. There’s no middle.

I tend to be loyal to the people who have been loyal to me.

I ripped both hamstrings.

Bob was fascinating to watch. It was like being a student of Albert Einstein. This guy was really brilliant, and I got to watch and experience it.

Bob was beloved by people, very intelligent people, for their entire lives, and he had tremendous loyalty from everyone. I know he has a reputation for being abusive, but he’s not.

I put all my energy and thoughtful commitment to everything that I do. There is no other way!

I wanted to have children.

I think it’s hard to live without some sort of faith.

We all grow.

You can’t stand still in one spot, no matter how good it is. You have to do something new, keep trying. That’s everything.

It’s highly collaborative, musical theater, so everybody has got to somehow get along.

People forget that the same man who did ‘Star 80’ and ‘All that Jazz’ also did ‘Pardon Me Miss But I’ve Never Been Kissed.’

The reason why I believe faith is important for a person is that it teaches you to trust.

Working with people who have a lot of heart is just the best. You can hire it, but you cannot teach it. It’s either there or it’s not.

Mr Fosse was obviously influenced by Brecht and Weill, as well as Bergman and Fellini, and you could see the influence of vaudeville and African American hoofing – and Fred Astaire, too.

‘Dancin’ was exceptionally significant. I was in an original Broadway show and nominated for a Tony.

I’m happiest with my family and with working.

When you’re a teenager, you don’t want to look different. So being very tall can set you apart, not being able to see very well can set you apart… and you just want to fit in. We all do.

Fosse would say that it’s important to trust silence. He very much liked the use of the tacit, or silent, count, where nothing is happening. He also liked percussion. His is a world of angular movement and mystery, quiet, semi-taciturn and percussive.

People think I’m accident-prone when they see me on crutches, but I do eight shows a week.

You can’t force kids on people.