--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had some ballet training but didn't…" description: "\"I had some ballet training but didn't like it. It was like a game to me.\" — Fred Astaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/fred-astaire-13151_ballet_i-had-some-ballet-training-but-didn-t-li_2068997.png" --- # I had some ballet training but didn't like it. It was like… ![“I had some ballet training but didn't like it. It was like a game to me.” quote by Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/fred-astaire-13151_ballet_i-had-some-ballet-training-but-didn-t-li_2068997.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/fred-astaire-13151_ballet_i-had-some-ballet-training-but-didn-t-li_2068997.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/fred-astaire-13151_ballet_i-had-some-ballet-training-but-didn-t-li_2068997.png) > “I had some ballet training but didn't like it. It was like a game to me.” [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ballet felt like a game, lacking the artistic seriousness he sought. **In simple terms:** He found ballet unfulfilling. Key Takeaway Seek art that resonates personally. Themes art personal preference creativity Mood thoughtful curious Type personal reflective When to use this quote - career choices - hobby selection - artistic direction Key Concepts Dance performance self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - What makes an art form meaningful to you? - Can playfulness coexist with seriousness? A Different Perspective May dismiss valuable discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) ## Related quotes > [When I did my first film, I didn't have formal training; I didn't work under any director. I really didn't know how to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/when-i-did-my-first-film-i-didn-t-have-formal-training-i-didn-t-work/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [Coming from having absolutely nothing to having a few grand in the bank, it was a big culture leap. I think that's why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-charles/coming-from-having-absolutely-nothing-to-having-a-few-grand-in-the/) [Craig Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-charles/) > [Most aspects of my training didn’t agree with me. There wasn’t as much bossing around as I’d hoped for, and there was way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/most-aspects-of-my-training-didn-t-agree-with-me-there-wasn-t-as-much/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [I guessed princesses-in-training didn’t wear pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/i-guessed-princesses-in-training-didn-t-wear-pants/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [Ballet dancing is arduous, strenuous activity. Students are engaged in physical training that rivals the training Olympic athletes undergo. At the same time, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-balanchine/ballet-dancing-is-arduous-strenuous-activity-students-are-engaged-in/) [George Balanchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-balanchine/) > [If the dance is right, there shouldn't be a single superfluous movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/if-the-dance-is-right-there-shouldn-t-be-a-single-superfluous-movement/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones ## More by Fred Astaire > [People think I was born in top hat and tails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/people-think-i-was-born-in-top-hat-and-tails/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [I just put my feet in the air and move them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/i-just-put-my-feet-in-the-air-and-move-them-around/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [It takes time to get a dance right, to create something memorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/it-takes-time-to-get-a-dance-right-to-create-something-memorable/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [“When a clumsy cloud from here, meets a fluffy little cloud from there, he billows towards her. She scurries away, and he scuds right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/when-a-clumsy-cloud-from-here-meets-a-fluffy-little-cloud-from-there/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [There comes a day when people begin to say, 'Why doesn't that old duffer retire?' I want to get out while they're still saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/there-comes-a-day-when-people-begin-to-say-why-doesn-t-that-old/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [We attend to his later performances as a dramatic actor with respect, but watching the nondancing, nonsinging Astaire is like watching a grounded skylark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/we-attend-to-his-later-performances-as-a-dramatic-actor-with-respect/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [Oh, there's no such thing as my favorite performance. I can't sit here today and look back, and say, Top Hat was better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/oh-there-s-no-such-thing-as-my-favorite-performance-i-can-t-sit-here/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [In dealing with a girl or a horse, one lets nature take its course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/in-dealing-with-a-girl-or-a-horse-one-lets-nature-take-its-course/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [If it doesn't look easy it is that we have not tried hard enough yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/if-it-doesn-t-look-easy-it-is-that-we-have-not-tried-hard-enough-yet/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [Slippery stages were the terror of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/slippery-stages-were-the-terror-of-my-life/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [I just put my feet in the ground and move them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/i-just-put-my-feet-in-the-ground-and-move-them-around/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [It's nice that all the composers have said that nobody interprets a lyric like Fred Astaire. But when it comes to selling records I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/it-s-nice-that-all-the-composers-have-said-that-nobody-interprets-a/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [I have never had anything that I can remember in the business - and that includes all the movies and the stage shows and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/i-have-never-had-anything-that-i-can-remember-in-the-business-and/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [The unpadded shoulders, the three-buttoned long and boxy coat, the too-short, thin pants, and the thin ties with striped buttoned shirts in dark colors-well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/the-unpadded-shoulders-the-three-buttoned-long-and-boxy-coat-the-too/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) > [But I do nothing that I don't like, such as "inventing" up to the arty or "down" to the corny. I happen to relish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-astaire/but-i-do-nothing-that-i-don-t-like-such-as-inventing-up-to-the-arty/) [Fred Astaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) [Explore all 51 Fred Astaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-astaire/) ## More Ballet quotes > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [One can be a great artist without being a great technician. There have been many famous ballet stars who did not have the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-bujones/one-can-be-a-great-artist-without-being-a-great-technician-there-have/) Fernando Bujones > [So I'm studying ballet every day and really training so people will see me as a ballet dancer, which no one's seen before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/so-i-m-studying-ballet-every-day-and-really-training-so-people-will/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [What I love most about ballet is being able to express my emotions through dance, and to be able to bring others joy through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/what-i-love-most-about-ballet-is-being-able-to-express-my-emotions/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [It is not a question of who dances but of who or what does not dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-st-denis/it-is-not-a-question-of-who-dances-but-of-who-or-what-does-not-dance/) [Ruth St. Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-st-denis/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) Peter Martins > [Even though I am a professional, and I know what the steps are, I don't quite know how I'm going to do them, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/even-though-i-am-a-professional-and-i-know-what-the-steps-are-i-don-t/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [I'd rather be a guy that can build a house or fix a car than be able to walk like a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-fimmel/i-d-rather-be-a-guy-that-can-build-a-house-or-fix-a-car-than-be-able/) [Travis Fimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-fimmel/) > [When I was 16, I moved to Torrance, California to train at a more advanced studio, and by 19, I joined the American Ballet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/when-i-was-16-i-moved-to-torrance-california-to-train-at-a-more/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [You can imagine me as a kid growing up in redneck Texas with ballet shoes, tucking the violin under my arm. I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/you-can-imagine-me-as-a-kid-growing-up-in-redneck-texas-with-ballet/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [I only started writing in the latter days of Spandau Ballet. I didnt know I could write because all had our roles within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hadley/i-only-started-writing-in-the-latter-days-of-spandau-ballet-i-didnt/) [Tony Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hadley/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I'm horrible in ballet. I tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keke-palmer/i-can-dance-i-like-hip-hop-and-stuff-and-jazz-movements-but-i-m/) [Keke Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keke-palmer/) [Browse all 1,227 Ballet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had some ballet training but didn't like it. 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