--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All we really want to do is dance." description: "\"All we really want to do is dance.\" — Joseph Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png" --- # All we really want to do is dance. ![“All we really want to do is dance.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png) > “All we really want to do is dance.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## 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 suggests that at our core, humans seek joy and expression through movement and celebration. **In simple terms:** People desire joy and movement. Key Takeaway Embrace dancing as a form of authentic self‑expression. Themes joy expression human nature Mood uplifting reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - personal rituals - stress relief - creative workshops Key Concepts mythology psychology celebration Questions to Reflect On - What activity makes you feel truly alive? - How can you incorporate more movement into daily life? A Different Perspective May not suit those who dislike dancing or feel self‑conscious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Really Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-want/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-dance/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“You want to dance with me?” “Now? Here?” “Sun’s almost gone. In my book it couldn't get more perfect, throwing back a vanilla root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-coryell/you-want-to-dance-with-me-now-here-sun-s-almost-gone-in-my-book-it/) [Christina Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-coryell/) > [Actors want to show off and dance in front of you and get your love, because they don't think they're worthy of it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/actors-want-to-show-off-and-dance-in-front-of-you-and-get-your-love/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [When I'm on me island, I want to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/when-i-m-on-me-island-i-want-to-dance/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [Since I was a child, I always loved music that made me want to dance. As a teenager, I used to dance the night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-ali/since-i-was-a-child-i-always-loved-music-that-made-me-want-to-dance/) [Nadia Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-ali/) > [I really want to be the black Tina Fey, where I just am able to produce my own content and produce other content for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/i-really-want-to-be-the-black-tina-fey-where-i-just-am-able-to/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [You know when you cried to much when you cant cry no more when you really want to](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-devries/you-know-when-you-cried-to-much-when-you-cant-cry-no-more-when-you/) [Ashley DeVries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-devries/) > [“I want to be bold and courageous; I want to take ridiculous risks; I want to live every moment with appreciation and consciousness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-simon-gunn/i-want-to-be-bold-and-courageous-i-want-to-take-ridiculous-risks-i/) [Jacqueline Simon Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-simon-gunn/) > [I want dance to emerge as a field where people can feel proud of being a dancer and they shouldn't feel the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-mohan/i-want-dance-to-emerge-as-a-field-where-people-can-feel-proud-of/) [Shakti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-mohan/) > [How you gonna do it if you really don't want do dance, by standing on the wall? Get your back up off the wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kool-and-the-gang/how-you-gonna-do-it-if-you-really-don-t-want-do-dance-by-standing-on/) [Kool And The Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kool-and-the-gang/) > [You want to hit people's ears to make them want to dance in their kitchen. So that is what a hit is to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grammer/you-want-to-hit-people-s-ears-to-make-them-want-to-dance-in-their/) [Andy Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grammer/) > [I want to dance, I want her ass. Why is she ignoring me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/i-want-to-dance-i-want-her-ass-why-is-she-ignoring-me/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [I have no interest in being a trained ballerina. People should dance how they want to dance. I want to be the funky chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclanahan/i-have-no-interest-in-being-a-trained-ballerina-people-should-dance/) [Scott McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclanahan/) > [“As I bounced her on my knee, AJ undid the first three buttons on his shirt and ripped off his tie. "I'm ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/as-i-bounced-her-on-my-knee-aj-undid-the-first-three-buttons-on-his/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [I want to dance. I want to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-dolce/i-want-to-dance-i-want-to-live/) [Domenico Dolce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-dolce/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## 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": "All we really want to do is dance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dce/joseph-campbell-300_dance_all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance-234166_2341668.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All we really want to do is dance.” — Joseph Campbell", "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": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All we really want to do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/all-we-really-want-to-do-is-dance/#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 } } ] } ```