--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was young, I couldn't think about…" description: "\"When I was young, I couldn't think about ballet because I had to focus on my own field. But once you secure your own performance area, you can indulge ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/marina-abramovic-1502_ballet_when-i-was-young-i-couldn-t-think-about_1511450.jpg" --- # When I was young, I couldn't think about ballet because I… ![“When I was young, I couldn't think about ballet because I had to focus on my own field. But once you secure your own performance area, you can indulge yourself in different territories. Fashion is one. And ballet is absolutely a fantasy, because it deals with the bodies in a different way.” quote by Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/marina-abramovic-1502_ballet_when-i-was-young-i-couldn-t-think-about_1511450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/marina-abramovic-1502_ballet_when-i-was-young-i-couldn-t-think-about_1511450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/marina-abramovic-1502_ballet_when-i-was-young-i-couldn-t-think-about_1511450.jpg) > “When I was young, I couldn't think about ballet because I had to focus on my own field. But once you secure your own performance area, you can indulge yourself in different territories. Fashion is one. And ballet is absolutely a fantasy, because it deals with the bodies in a different way.” [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Securing personal mastery allows exploration of new creative domains, like fashion or ballet, which treat the body differently. **In simple terms:** Master your own field, then explore others. Key Takeaway Build confidence before diversifying. Themes creativity body exploration discipline artistic freedom Mood inspired reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career development - artistic experimentation - cross‑disciplinary projects - personal growth Key Concepts embodiment interdisciplinary practice self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What personal foundation do you need to develop? - How can you balance mastery with curiosity? A Different Perspective Without a solid foundation, venturing into new areas may feel superficial or unsustainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Ballet Absolutely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-absolutely-3924703/) [Ballet Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-focus-4808475/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Fashion Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion-ballet-5565457/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Indulge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge/) [Indulge yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge-yourself/) [Think Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-ballet-1284582/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When I was five years old, I told my parents that I wanted to take ballet. So, ballet was the focus of my life...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandra-west/when-i-was-five-years-old-i-told-my-parents-that-i-wanted-to-take/) [Chandra West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandra-west/) > [Coco Chanel was always doing things with ballet, so it is a tradition clashing fashion and ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/coco-chanel-was-always-doing-things-with-ballet-so-it-is-a-tradition/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [I have learned a great deal from the theatrical side of Covent Garden. The Paris Opera Ballet is more concerned with technique. It's perfect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/i-have-learned-a-great-deal-from-the-theatrical-side-of-covent-garden/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [Being a novelist, you can roam around with a story and indulge yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/being-a-novelist-you-can-roam-around-with-a-story-and-indulge-yourself/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I have never in my life found myself in a situation where I've stopped work and said, 'Thank God it's Friday.' But weekends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-have-never-in-my-life-found-myself-in-a-situation-where-i-ve/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [Indulge yourself in pleasures only in so far as they are necessary for the preservation of health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/indulge-yourself-in-pleasures-only-in-so-far-as-they-are-necessary/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [It's fine to indulge yourself so long as you don't try and foist it on the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kapranos/it-s-fine-to-indulge-yourself-so-long-as-you-don-t-try-and-foist-it/) [Alex Kapranos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kapranos/) > [Keep your sunny side up, keep yourself beautiful, and indulge yourself!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/keep-your-sunny-side-up-keep-yourself-beautiful-and-indulge-yourself/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [“The less you indulge yourself now, the more you can indulge yourself in the future, when you have made your fortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-less-you-indulge-yourself-now-the-more-you-can-indulge-yourself/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [When you think about it, when you're single you are not deprived in any way - if anything, it's a pretty self-indulgent lifestyle. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-zellweger/when-you-think-about-it-when-you-re-single-you-are-not-deprived-in/) [Renee Zellweger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-zellweger/) > [We have a name for your disease. We call it a hyper-aesthetic one. You have been encouraged to over-indulge yourself in literature; and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/we-have-a-name-for-your-disease-we-call-it-a-hyper-aesthetic-one-you/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [If you indulge yourself one day, you can eat more healthfully the next. To the degree you move in a healthful direction on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/if-you-indulge-yourself-one-day-you-can-eat-more-healthfully-the-next/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [Once you have conquered your profession and are standing at the summit, it is all very well to look back down the slope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/once-you-have-conquered-your-profession-and-are-standing-at-the/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [“Remember, anoretics do eat. We have systems of eating that develop almost unconsciously. By the time we realize we´ve been running our lives with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/remember-anoretics-do-eat-we-have-systems-of-eating-that-develop/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [Forget your sadness, anger, grudges and hatred. Let them pass like smoke caught in a breeze. Do not indulge yourself in such feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-hatsumi/forget-your-sadness-anger-grudges-and-hatred-let-them-pass-like-smoke-2/) [Masaaki Hatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-hatsumi/) ## More by Marina Abramovic > [I really think there's no difference between an art piece made by a man and one made by a woman. Is it a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-really-think-there-s-no-difference-between-an-art-piece-made-by-a/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I hate studios. A studio is a black hole. I never use a studio to work. It's very artificial to go to a studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-hate-studios-a-studio-is-a-black-hole-i-never-use-a-studio-to-work/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [In my work I have complete control, but about my life, I don't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/in-my-work-i-have-complete-control-but-about-my-life-i-don-t-want-to/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Performance is there, and if you are not there in that moment it happened, it just stays in the memory. It's so immaterial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/performance-is-there-and-if-you-are-not-there-in-that-moment-it/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I can explain my work to the cleaner or the president; it's all the same to me. I am very communist in this way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-can-explain-my-work-to-the-cleaner-or-the-president-it-s-all-the/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [My memoirs are full of humor, I had to change jokes because it was a little too dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/my-memoirs-are-full-of-humor-i-had-to-change-jokes-because-it-was-a/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [To be in a magazine when you're 20 is okay, but when you do it when you're 65, it's much more fun!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/to-be-in-a-magazine-when-you-re-20-is-okay-but-when-you-do-it-when/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Most of the time, the artists are not supposed to wear the fashion. It is always seen as a vanity. But I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/most-of-the-time-the-artists-are-not-supposed-to-wear-the-fashion-it/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [You know, art is very emotional business. But mostly it becomes not emotional, the fabric of commodity. It becomes business. It becomes so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/you-know-art-is-very-emotional-business-but-mostly-it-becomes-not/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I didn't give any instruction to the video, because it was a new medium. I didn't know what to tell him; it was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-didn-t-give-any-instruction-to-the-video-because-it-was-a-new/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [If I'm not nervous, I'm nervous. You never know how people are going to receive the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/if-i-m-not-nervous-i-m-nervous-you-never-know-how-people-are-going-to/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Today, our attention is less than the television advertisement. We're looking at six or seven problems constantly. We're living in the disturbed societies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/today-our-attention-is-less-than-the-television-advertisement-we-re/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Art comes from life, not from the studio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/art-comes-from-life-not-from-the-studio/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [All the aggressive actions I do to myself I would never dream of doing in my own life - I am not this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/all-the-aggressive-actions-i-do-to-myself-i-would-never-dream-of/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [It's so easy to do things you like. But then, the thing is, when you're afraid of something, face it; go for it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/it-s-so-easy-to-do-things-you-like-but-then-the-thing-is-when-you-re/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) [Explore all 234 Marina Abramovic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "When I was young, I couldn't think about ballet because I had to focus on my own field. But once you secure your own performance area, you can indulge yourself in different territories. Fashion is one. 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