--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I studied the way I danced- to the point…" description: "\"I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.\" — Agnes de Mille" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png" --- # I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping. ![“I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.” quote by Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png) > “I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.” [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote captures the obsessive pursuit of mastery, where relentless practice erodes physical limits and personal identity merges with the art form. **In simple terms:** Intense dedication to craft Key Takeaway Mastery demands sacrifice Themes Dedication Physicality Artistic Identity Obsession Transformation Mood Determined Exhausted Reflective Type Inspirational Cautionary When to use this quote - Professional dancer refining technique - Athlete pushing limits - Artist seeking authenticity - Student overwhelmed by study - Performer confronting fatigue Key Concepts Practice Embodiment Self-Expression Practical Applications - Designing training regimens that balance intensity and recovery - Developing mindfulness practices for artists Questions to Reflect On - How does relentless practice affect personal well‑being? - When does dedication become self‑destruction? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Danced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danced/) [Dropping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dropping/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Studied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studied/) [Studied Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studied-way-1008485/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Danced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-danced-1008484/) ## Related quotes > [“I studied him the way I studied all the people in my life, noticing the changes of his mood, the times when the edge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/i-studied-him-the-way-i-studied-all-the-people-in-my-life-noticing/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [I like the way he danced. And then I like the way we danced together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-like-the-way-he-danced-and-then-i-like-the-way-we-danced-together/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I loved her not for the way she danced with my angels, but for the way the sound of her name could silence my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-poindexter/i-loved-her-not-for-the-way-she-danced-with-my-angels-but-for-the-way-2/) [Christopher Poindexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-poindexter/) > [For we have thought the longer thoughts And gone the shorter way. And we have danced to devils' tunes, Shivering home to pray; To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-we-have-thought-the-longer-thoughts-and-gone-the-shorter-way-and/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Like anybody else of my era, I listened to a whole lot of Michael Jackson. I guess I was probably inspired by the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketch-secor/like-anybody-else-of-my-era-i-listened-to-a-whole-lot-of-michael/) [Ketch Secor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ketch-secor/) > [“Julia had read once that you could tell how someone would be in the bedroom by the way they danced and the way they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lake/julia-had-read-once-that-you-could-tell-how-someone-would-be-in-the/) [Alex Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lake/) > [I loved her, not for the way she danced with my angels. But for the way, the sound of her voice could silence my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-poindexter/i-loved-her-not-for-the-way-she-danced-with-my-angels-but-for-the-way/) [Christopher Poindexter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-poindexter/) > [I went to college to study drama where I discovered I had no talent and after a period of dropping out majored in cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hand/i-went-to-college-to-study-drama-where-i-discovered-i-had-no-talent/) [Elizabeth Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hand/) > [If I studied the way I do during finals week all year long, I would be a freaking genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-studied-the-way-i-do-during-finals-week-all-year-long-i-would-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I studied video game design. The one thing I knew for sure about myself is I didn't want to study acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-sprouse/i-studied-video-game-design-the-one-thing-i-knew-for-sure-about/) [Dylan Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-sprouse/) > [At home, I was very traditional, studied, made sure I brought home those A's and B's, made sure I went to Bible study. Outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ncuti-gatwa/at-home-i-was-very-traditional-studied-made-sure-i-brought-home-those/) [Ncuti Gatwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ncuti-gatwa/) > [“He had danced with fair maidens before, but Odette was different. She was graceful and beautiful, but there was something in her eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/he-had-danced-with-fair-maidens-before-but-odette-was-different-she/) [Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [You have all this stuff going on in your head, like, 'I can't believe seven years has gone by, and I'm going to miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/you-have-all-this-stuff-going-on-in-your-head-like-i-can-t-believe/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) ## More by Agnes de Mille > [I learned three important things in college-to use a library, to memorize quickly and visually, to drop asleep at any time given a horizontal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-learned-three-important-things-in-college-to-use-a-library-to/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/to-dance-is-to-be-out-of-yourself-larger-more-beautiful-more-powerful/) [Agnes De Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Modern dancers give a sinister portent about our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/modern-dancers-give-a-sinister-portent-about-our-times/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Ballet technique is arbitrary and very difficult. It never becomes easy...it becomes possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/ballet-technique-is-arbitrary-and-very-difficult-it-never-becomes/) [Agnes De Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [We can't stand silence, because silence induces thinking. And if we thought, we would have to face ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/we-can-t-stand-silence-because-silence-induces-thinking-and-if-we/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [What have we got here in America that we believe we cannot live without? We have the most varied and imaginative bathrooms in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/what-have-we-got-here-in-america-that-we-believe-we-cannot-live/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [To make up a dance, I still need, as I needed then, a pot of tea, walking space, privacy and an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/to-make-up-a-dance-i-still-need-as-i-needed-then-a-pot-of-tea-walking/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/no-trumpets-sound-when-the-important-decisions-of-our-life-are-made/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Modern dancers give a sinister portent about our times. The dancers don't even look at one another. They are just a lot of isolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/modern-dancers-give-a-sinister-portent-about-our-times-the-dancers/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the-2/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [Friends die one by one, but so, thank God, do enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/friends-die-one-by-one-but-so-thank-god-do-enemies/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [The universe lies before you on the floor, in the air, in the mysterious bodies of your dancers, in your mind. From this voyage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/the-universe-lies-before-you-on-the-floor-in-the-air-in-the/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [I want one word on my tombstone - dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-want-one-word-on-my-tombstone-dancer/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [“The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/the-truest-expression-of-a-people-is-in-its-dance-and-in-its-music/) [Agnes De Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) [Explore all 46 Agnes de Mille quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) ## More Dance quotes > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [My body was so instrumental to how I took pictures: it was practically a dance. I used to use my legs a lot; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/my-body-was-so-instrumental-to-how-i-took-pictures-it-was-practically/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [If you dance, you dance because you have to. Every dancer hurts, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/if-you-dance-you-dance-because-you-have-to-every-dancer-hurts-you-know/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Being fit is the easiest part of being a dance professional. I used to just throw on a backpack full of rocks and run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-du-beke/being-fit-is-the-easiest-part-of-being-a-dance-professional-i-used-to/) [Anton du Beke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-du-beke/) > [I'm a horrible dancer, but I wanted to record songs that made me want to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lane/i-m-a-horrible-dancer-but-i-wanted-to-record-songs-that-made-me-want/) [Chris Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lane/) [Browse all 9,682 Dance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Agnes de Mille" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point-of-dropping/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point-of-dropping/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffc/agnes-de-mille-14468_dance_i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point_78471.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.” — Agnes de Mille", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Agnes de Mille", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I studied the way I danced-...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point-of-dropping/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point-of-dropping/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```