--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is difficult to see the great dance…" description: "\"It is difficult to see the great dance effects as they happen, to see them accurately, catch them fast in memory. It is even more difficult to verbaliz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/martha-graham-2832_critical_it-is-difficult-to-see-the-great-dance-e_863741.png" --- # It is difficult to see the great dance effects as they… ![“It is difficult to see the great dance effects as they happen, to see them accurately, catch them fast in memory. It is even more difficult to verbalize them for critical discussion. The particular essence of a performance, its human sweep of articulate rhythm in space and in time has no specific…” quote by Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/martha-graham-2832_critical_it-is-difficult-to-see-the-great-dance-e_863741.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/martha-graham-2832_critical_it-is-difficult-to-see-the-great-dance-e_863741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d95/martha-graham-2832_critical_it-is-difficult-to-see-the-great-dance-e_863741.png) > “It is difficult to see the great dance effects as they happen, to see them accurately, catch them fast in memory. It is even more difficult to verbalize them for critical discussion. The particular essence of a performance, its human sweep of articulate rhythm in space and in time has no specific terminology to describe it by.” [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capturing fleeting, complex movements is hard because language lacks precise terms for embodied rhythm. **In simple terms:** Artistic moments are hard to describe. Key Takeaway Accept limits of verbal description. Themes art expression perception language limits Mood introspective inspired Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - dance critique - visual arts education - theatre rehearsal - sports analysis Key Concepts embodiment kinesthetic intelligence semiotics Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey feeling without words? - What alternative vocabularies help? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on words can diminish experiential learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Great dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-dance/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performance/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Rhythm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythm/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [The main thing, of course, always, is the fact that there is only one of you in the world, just one, and if that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-main-thing-of-course-always-is-the-fact-that-there-is-only-one-of/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to paradise of the achievement is not easier than any other. There is fatigue so great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-appears-glamorous-easy-delightful-but-the-path-to-paradise-of/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [There is fatigue so great that the body cries, even in its sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-fatigue-so-great-that-the-body-cries-even-in-its-sleep/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dance-is-communication-and-so-the-great-challenge-is-to-speak-clearly/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [I don't try to dance better than anybody but myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-baryshnikov/i-don-t-try-to-dance-better-than-anybody-but-myself/) [Mikhail Baryshnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-baryshnikov/) > [The dance is the mother of the arts. Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-sachs/the-dance-is-the-mother-of-the-arts-music-and-poetry-exist-in-time/) [Curt Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-sachs/) > [Think of the horse as your partner.and it's all one great dance. That's not to say it's always going to be easy or you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/think-of-the-horse-as-your-partner-and-it-s-all-one-great-dance-that/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [I do a one-hour workout called Drenched, a cardio-boxing fitness routine, Monday through Friday. There are usually between twenty-five and fifty people there -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ann-inaba/i-do-a-one-hour-workout-called-drenched-a-cardio-boxing-fitness/) [Carrie Ann Inaba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ann-inaba/) > [Every great dance company, even when it seems poised in perfect balance, needs constant renewal of both repertory and performers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/every-great-dance-company-even-when-it-seems-poised-in-perfect/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [Love like you'll never be hurt..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-watson-purkey/love-like-you-ll-never-be-hurt/) [William Watson Purkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-watson-purkey/) > [We can co-create this change. Spreading the word, learning to treat others with love, acceptance and forgiveness, and bravely stepping up to do our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/we-can-co-create-this-change-spreading-the-word-learning-to-treat/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It's the rhythym of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-d-amboise/dance-is-your-pulse-your-heartbeat-your-breathing-it-s-the-rhythym-of/) [Jacques d'Amboise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-d-amboise/) > [Dancing begets warmth, which is the parent of wantonness. It is, Sir, the great grandfather of cuckoldom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/dancing-begets-warmth-which-is-the-parent-of-wantonness-it-is-sir-the/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [Dancing's not work. You can't call it work. A day I don't dance is a day I don't live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-buonaventura/dancing-s-not-work-you-can-t-call-it-work-a-day-i-don-t-dance-is-a/) [Wendy Buonaventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-buonaventura/) > [I was very into tribal techno and used to go and really lose myself in great dance music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/i-was-very-into-tribal-techno-and-used-to-go-and-really-lose-myself/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) ## More by Martha Graham > [The body never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-never-lies/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You have no right to go before a public without an adequate technique, just because you feel. Anything feels - a leaf feels, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-have-no-right-to-go-before-a-public-without-an-adequate-technique/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-vitality-a-life-force-an-energy-a-quickening-that-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Misery is a communicable disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/misery-is-a-communicable-disease/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. 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What makes a great dancer is passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/what-makes-a-great-dancer-is-not-technique-what-makes-a-great-dancer/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The body is a sacred garment. It's your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-a-sacred-garment-it-s-your-first-and-last-garment-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-are-unique-and-if-that-is-not-fulfilled-then-something-has-been/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-see-when-weaving-a-blanket-an-indian-woman-leaves-a-flaw-in-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-is-just-discovery-discovery-discovery-what-it-all-means-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Theater used to be a verb; it used to be an act. But nowadays it is just a noun. It is a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/theater-used-to-be-a-verb-it-used-to-be-an-act-but-nowadays-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [There is a force, a quickness that is translated through you into action. If you block it, the world will not have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-force-a-quickness-that-is-translated-through-you-into/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) [Explore all 148 Martha Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## More Critical quotes > [People will pay a price for putting political obstruction over progress in a time that is so critical and urgent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/people-will-pay-a-price-for-putting-political-obstruction-over/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. 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That is in the hands of the political leaders. However, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadashi-yanai/as-a-businessperson-i-dont-have-the-power-to-change-the-government/) [Tadashi Yanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadashi-yanai/) > [It has never been more critical that a leader step forward to accelerate our understanding of cancer - and champion the effort to finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-dzau/it-has-never-been-more-critical-that-a-leader-step-forward-to/) Victor J. Dzau > [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/) [W. H. 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