Jean-Georges NoverreThe defect in wisdom and taste which exists among the majority of dancers is due to the bad education which they generally receive. They apply themselves only to the material side… ▶364Philosophy
Jean-Georges NoverreThe abuse of the best things is always detrimental.364Humor
Jean-Georges NoverreNo matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain. Again, the most strenuous labor affords the… ▶366Sadness
Jean-Georges NoverreIt is not a question of skimming the surface of the art, it must be probed to its depths, for to seize upon superficial things only is to degenerate into mediocrity and obscurity.367Love
Jean-Georges NoverreIt is shameful that dancing should renounce the empire it might assert over the mind and only endeavor to please the sight.379Thought
Jean-Georges NoverreDancing and ballets would undoubtedly take on a new lease on life, if the customs established by a spirit of fear and jealousy did not in some way close the path of glory.379Life
Jean-Georges NoverreI cannot avoid condemning all those who, from self-conceit have the pretension to imitate great artists of the past. If their powers of emotion be weak, their powers of expression… ▶348PoliticsTime
Jean-Georges NoverreIf our ballets be feeble, monotonous and dull, if they be devoid of ideas, meaning, expression and character, it is less the fault of the art than that of the artist.287PhilosophyThought
Jean-Georges NoverreIn order that our art may arrive at the degree of the sublime which I demand and hope for, it is imperative for dancers to divide their time and studies between the mind and the b… ▶222DeathHopeThought
Jean-Georges NoverreThe defects born of habit are innumerable. I see every child occupied in some way in disarranging and disfiguring his physique; some displace the ankles through the habit they hav… ▶267Reading
Jean-Georges NoverreA fine picture is but the image of nature; a finished ballet is nature herself.212Hope
Jean-Georges NoverreIn order to dance well, nothing is so important as the turning outwards of the thigh; and nothing is so natural to men as the contrary position.223Reading
Jean-Georges NoverreThis art, born of genius and good taste, can become beautiful and varied to an infinite degree.257Politics
Jean-Georges NoverreI will make an average man into an average dancer, provided he be passably well made. I will teach him how to move his arms and legs, to turn his head. I will give him steadiness,… ▶246Truth
Jean-Georges NoverreWhen the music and dance create with accord...their magic captivates both the heart and the mind.2710LoveThought
Jean-Georges NoverreI should never conclude were I to speak to you of all the misfortunes which have their origin in the faulty carriage of the body. All these defects, mortifying for those who have … ▶192Death
Jean-Georges NoverreTrue art consists in concealing art.218Truth
Jean-Georges NoverreAt our theaters we only see feeble copies of the copies that have proceeded them, renounce that slavish routine which keeps your art in its infancy; examine everything relative to… ▶219Death
Jean-Georges NoverreApplause lavished at a whim and without discernment, often proves the ruin of young people training for a stage career.158Humanity
