choreographers

"Dancing to a Bamboo Beat The New York Times"

"[Tinikling] does become a contest between the dancer and the clapper."

"I envy my foreign counterparts—Bournonville of Copenhagen, Fokine and Petipa of Moscow, Balanchine of New York, Ashton of London—because even after their retirement, even after their death, their works are kept alive through continuous performance…But what steps are being taken to preserve choreographies created in the Philippines? Where are the dance-dramas I created and which won for me the title of National Artist? Nowhere to be seen."

"“It’s a partnership. When you have a partner, you have to breathe together, think together, practice together!"

"I get upset when trees are felled. There are floods because there are no more trees."

"Alice Reyes’ other ‘wonderland’ Inquirer"

"Youth unemployment will be the defining challenge of this era alongside climate change, and I am committed to helping the UN as an IFAD Advocate for Rural Youth to do everything I can to provide a better future for young people everywhere, They need jobs and opportunities in agriculture to help feed a growing population while also building a safe and prosperous future right where they live. the only way we are going to solve complex challenges like ending extreme poverty, hunger and forced migration is by calling on governments to invest in a different way of going about development. Young people want to build a better world, but they can’t do it alone."

"I work with children in a few ways. I have a home for homeless children in Rwanda, and there’s a few children I look after and send to school. I’m used to playing a mothering role, so when it comes to working with children, I still have that motherly feeling. I know how to speak to them and how to encourage them. Instead of just teaching them a move, I’ll take them back to where it comes from and what it means, you know? I make it entertaining and interesting. All the kids in the video left with so much insight into the culture; they can’t stop dancing in this new style that they’d never tried before."

"I think whether you’re a dance choreographer, a writer, a singer, or anyone who has that stage, it’s definitely good to engage things in a political way, but also in a creative way. For me, I was just trying to show that the kids are the light in all the darkness around them. So that was done in a very subtle way of having these happy, amazing children dancing and enjoying their lives and not paying attention to everything going on around them. I think subtlety is always the best way, instead of us standing there with a big sign in the background that says, "Hey, don’t worry!" You know what I mean? Sometimes you can just dance and smile and still relay the message without having to do it in an obvious way."

"My life is an example of what can be achieved when a young Rwandan girl is given an opportunity to express herself and chase her passions."

"We did a lot of rehearsals to pull off the hologram, and we made sure to carry it out in the safest way possible. That was the climax of the performance, a joyful moment, before we calmed it down with the little princess at the end."

"When I met the twins, I fell in love straight away. Their mother hadn’t had an opportunity to name them and when their father asked me to name them I called them Precious and Sapphire Gihozo. I promised to look after them until they were 18 at least and they’ve actually started calling me mommy."

"One thing I can say is that the most important thing was safety first and making sure the interest of the children and their parents were met. We had several safety briefs, and I made sure I rebriefed them to understand everything that’s going on. That was a very important aspect—them understanding what’s going on. Everyone watches TV, so I’m sure this is not the first time these kids had seen anything violent. Violence is happening in their reality every day. At least they know, with this video, nobody died."

"we want African youths not to have to feel that they need to leave their countries to find greener pastures elsewhere to make their artistic and entrepreneurial dreams come true."

"They came to me because they liked my style, but there was also a move that they saw that’s trending. It’s called the Gwara Gwara [from South Africa]. They wanted me to include that move."

"As an artist, it’s important not to ignore what’s going on around the world. Fairytales are good, but if you look around, what do you see? It’s hard. I mean, I understand when people say [artists should] try not to have violence in their videos, but violence exists. I think it’s just important how you address it. I don’t necessarily agree that artists should shy away from the fact there’s violence."

"Imagine what would happen if governments and donors around the world spent as much on agriculture and rural people as they do on humanitarian aid,There would be food security. There would be social stability. There would be less damage to the environment. There would be hope for our future."

"Success seems like it’s overnight but, obviously, it’s really years of work."

"Being a part of the number one trending video means a lot. I don’t just do this for fun. I really do it because I want to give back. I travel and teach African dance from all over the continent. I take the money I generate from teaching back to Rwanda, Uganda, and Nigeria to redevelop schools and help get homeless kids off the street. For me, it’s not just about dancing. It’s the actual outcome that matters most."

"My mom would always reassure me that I’m beautiful, so I decided, growing up, that I was going to stand firm in who I truly am."

"Contributing to their upbringing has impacted me massively. I was looking after kids before but taking them from being babies has made me grow up even more and my heart has become bigger. They bring me a lot of joy."

"We want the youth in Africa to feel they don't need to leave their countries to realize their artistic dreams and entrepreneurial aspirations."

"For a while now, Gwara Gwara has been the dance that everyone wants to do and learn. It looks simple, but it’s actually difficult to do. I lived in South Africa for two months while filming a movie, so I became quite familiar with it. I also included the Shaku Shaku dance from Nigeria, the Alkayida from Ghana, the Azonto from Ghana, and other moves that don’t have names, as well."

"Childish Gambino’s team reached out to me after seeing some of my dance videos online. They saw one particular move that they liked, Gwara Gwara from South Africa, which we did in the video and also on SNL. I came up with different steps, taught the school kids and the choir, and helped Donald [Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino] with his solos."

"I am inviting you to come together and stand on the right side of history by investing more in young rural people, and the communities where they live."

"I’ve always felt like my life’s work has been to teach–then at a point, a studio became a dream of mine because the spiritual relationship I have with dancing is one that I feel I need to share."

"We believe that we are all global citizens responsible for making the world a better place, and the time to do so is right here, right now. We recognise the challenges, especially in a region with high poverty, and we strive to play our part to effect positive change."

"The studio is a home of expression, a home of love–and a home of freedom."

"We need to find creative ways to end period poverty. I know it can get awkward sometimes to speak about these things, but we need to be there for each other. It is important to share the information and knowledge that you gain. We need to take up more options in trying to help each other end period poverty."

"It’s true that men who invade territories also want to annihilate the physical body, the social body. But I decided to zoom into the stories of the Rwandan women and let that spread out and speak of the others."

"I would ask if I could take a photo after talking to them, and most would change into a beautiful dress. They wanted me to carry beauty and hope with me."

"The choreography was about digging into the physical memories of these women’s tension, their rage, their sorrow. I tried to honestly remember my feelings and the emotional journey I went through in their presence. I am not trying to reproduce rape; I want to cut through the trauma so that people can receive and understand these experiences. The body speaks when testimony has been suspended."

"I recorded their voices and really tried to capture how they held themselves, how they walked, how they wiped away their tears. It all became physical, choreographic, material. We hear some of their testimonies in the piece, and I had to find a way for the body to navigate through these spoken words"

"Rwanda is in me, it’s very deep. My creativity is linked to the past, my childhood there. There is much to be said and told, not just through dance and music, but that is one way to address it. It’s a question of creating, mending, performing, witnessing, sharing."

"Nureyev had an iron will and was totally dedicated to his art. He became the highest paid ballet dancer in the world, he made ballet popular, he became the rock-star of ballet, he changed male dancing in the classics making the part of the male dancer the equal of the ballerina; he created a new approach to ballet erasing the differences between classical ballet and modern dancing."

"His death hurt us deep inside. I had known him for more than thirty years. We were friends. And yet, I am not sure we showed him enough recognition or gratitude. Did we tell him how unique he was? Did we thank him enough for the emotion he gave us? Did we prove our admiration and love as we should have? I don’t know. What I do know now is that we are alone, that the irreparable has happened and that a brilliant dancer has gone forever."

"Rudolf was an unusual man of all respects, instictive, intelligent, constant curiosity, extraordinary discipline, that was his goal in life and of course love of performing. He loved strong women, loyal men and he loved his life. I learned a lot from him although we are very different performers. I will miss him for the rest of my life. That's for sure."

"I think dancers are paid not for what they do, but for the fear they feel. What you do is probably not that difficult: you just get on stage. It is, however, fear that gives you the push."

"Musicals gave the U.S. an ethnic culture that undoubtedly influenced ballet."

"It is always thought that he gave more than what he received, but to give something, you must have something inside."

"You live because you dance, you dance as long as you live."

"Everyone would like to be the greatest, but God cannot bestow that honor on everyone."

"I would be ready to take over tomorrow. But first of all, all fat and lazy members of the troupe would have to be thrown out."

"Rudolf is there in my mind. I can still hear his voice, his wheeze, every time I correct a dancer. Just as he, when he corrected us, could probably hear the words of his own teacher in his head."

"For me, purity of movement wasn't enough. I needed expression, more intensity, more mind."

"Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration."

"The main thing is dancing, and before it withers away from my body, I will keep dancing till the last moment, the last drop."

"'I'm never going to go away with this for the sake of money. I'm never going to be silenced for money. That's not going to happen.'"

"'I've lived in silence and denial for 22 years and I can't spend another moment in that.'"

"'And then he would follow it up with, "but if you ever tell anyone what we are doing both of our lives and careers would be over"'."