--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dance is an art in space and time. The…" description: "\"“Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.”\" — Merce Cunningham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/merce-cunningham-16180_art_dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-ob_22602.jpg" --- # Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the… ![“Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.” quote by Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/merce-cunningham-16180_art_dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-ob_22602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/merce-cunningham-16180_art_dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-ob_22602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/merce-cunningham-16180_art_dance-is-an-art-in-space-and-time-the-ob_22602.jpg) > ““Dance is an art in space and time. The object of the dancer is to obliterate that.”” [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dancer seeks to dissolve the boundaries of physical form and temporal sequence, merging movement with its surrounding space and moment. **In simple terms:** Movement transcends body and time. Key Takeaway Art can erase its own limits. Themes embodiment temporal fluidity spatial awareness performance philosophy creative freedom Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - contemporary choreography - improvisational workshops - interdisciplinary art installations - movement therapy sessions Key Concepts dance kinesthetic perception aesthetic theory Practical Applications - choreographic training - stage design integration Questions to Reflect On - How does removing the dancer's ego affect audience perception? - In what ways can other arts adopt this dissolution of form? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancer/) [Obliterate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obliterate/) [Space and time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-and-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching. Dance is the only art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-shawn/work-like-you-don-t-need-money-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-and/) [Ted Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-shawn/) > [Dance is an art that imprints on the soul. It is with you every moment, it expresses itself in everything you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/dance-is-an-art-that-imprints-on-the-soul-it-is-with-you-every-moment/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [“Tanacity is the dance within the art of opportunity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/tanacity-is-the-dance-within-the-art-of-opportunity/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-your-instrument-in-dance-but-your-art-is-outside-that-2/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The body is your instrument in dance, but your art is outside that creature, the body. I don't leap and jump anymore. I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-your-instrument-in-dance-but-your-art-is-outside-that/) [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. Dance is the only art of which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dance-is-communication-and-so-the-great-challenge-is-to-speak-clearly-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a temptation to exploit one's technique because an audience is easily reached this way, but they cannot be moved by technique alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alla-osipenko/it-is-a-temptation-to-exploit-one-s-technique-because-an-audience-is/) Alla Osipenko > [For all those who are interested in the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, esthetic, historical or any other aspects of our dance art... It is high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-subrahmanyam/for-all-those-who-are-interested-in-the-spiritual-emotional/) Padma Subrahmanyam > [I believe that dance was the first art. A philosopher has said that dance and architecture were the first arts. I believe that dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-believe-that-dance-was-the-first-art-a-philosopher-has-said-that/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The noblest art is the nude. This truth is recognized by all, and followed by painters, sculptors and poets. Only the dancer has forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/the-noblest-art-is-the-nude-this-truth-is-recognized-by-all-and/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Dance is art not on a page art that is living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dance-is-art-not-on-a-page-art-that-is-living/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Dance is an art because it demands vocation, knowledge, and ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-bournonville/the-dance-is-an-art-because-it-demands-vocation-knowledge-and-ability/) [August Bournonville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-bournonville/) > [dance is simply the refinement of human movement - walking, running, and jumping. We are all experts. There should be no art form more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/dance-is-simply-the-refinement-of-human-movement-walking-running-and/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Dance is an art, so day by day, it's growing and there are new things that can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-boss/dance-is-an-art-so-day-by-day-it-s-growing-and-there-are-new-things/) [Stephen Boss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-boss/) > [Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-shawn/dance-is-the-only-art-of-which-we-ourselves-are-the-stuff-of-which-it/) [Ted Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-shawn/) ## More by Merce Cunningham > [There's no thinking involved in my choreography... I don't work through images or ideas. I work through the body... If the dancer dances, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/there-s-no-thinking-involved-in-my-choreography-i-don-t-work-through/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [The most essential thing in dance discipline is devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/the-most-essential-thing-in-dance-discipline-is-devotion/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I think anything can feed you, depending on the way you look at it or listen to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-think-anything-can-feed-you-depending-on-the-way-you-look-at-it-or/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [“You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-have-to-love-dancing-to-stick-to-it-it-gives-you-nothing-back-no/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [My dance classes were open to anybody, my only stipulation was that they had to come to the class every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/my-dance-classes-were-open-to-anybody-my-only-stipulation-was-that/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [You can get fixed ideas, and it can get restrictive. So, I try to put myself in a precarious position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-can-get-fixed-ideas-and-it-can-get-restrictive-so-i-try-to-put/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I was told that I had to give grades to the students, which I wasn't particularly interested in doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-was-told-that-i-had-to-give-grades-to-the-students-which-i-wasn-t/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Fortunately, dance has been what's interested me all my life. So whether I am faced with incapacities or not, it still absorbs me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/fortunately-dance-has-been-what-s-interested-me-all-my-life-so/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Movement is expressive. I've never denied that. I don't think there's such a thing as abstract dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/movement-is-expressive-i-ve-never-denied-that-i-don-t-think-there-s/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [You do not separate the human being from the actions he does or the actions which surround him, but you see what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/you-do-not-separate-the-human-being-from-the-actions-he-does-or-the/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Very often, you did something slow with your arm, for example, and something rapid with your feet - but the arm had to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/very-often-you-did-something-slow-with-your-arm-for-example-and/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I began to do this thing I do of giving myself a class every day, and trying to experiment and push further. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-began-to-do-this-thing-i-do-of-giving-myself-a-class-every-day-and/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [It is upon the length and breadth and span of a body sustained in muscular action that dance invokes its image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/it-is-upon-the-length-and-breadth-and-span-of-a-body-sustained-in/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [I have always had this thing about moving around, and that has just remained, regardless of my physical changes. That feeling about it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/i-have-always-had-this-thing-about-moving-around-and-that-has-just/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) > [Anything can feed you, depending on the way you look at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merce-cunningham/anything-can-feed-you-depending-on-the-way-you-look-at-it/) [Merce Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) [Explore all 40 Merce Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merce-cunningham/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dance is an art in space and time. 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