--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Technique is what you fall back on when…" description: "\"Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.\" — Rudolf Nureyev" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg" --- # Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of… ![“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” quote by Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg) > “Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technique is a fallback when creativity runs dry, providing structure. **In simple terms:** Technique supports when inspiration wanes. Key Takeaway Strengthen your technical foundation. Themes creativity technique discipline Mood practical inspirational Type advisory educational When to use this quote - dance rehearsal - writing practice - problem solving Key Concepts skill mastery artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance technique and inspiration? - When should you trust technique over intuition? A Different Perspective Overreliance can stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) ## Related quotes > [Remember that for every technique you think you can fall back on, there is a counter for it, or there are times when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-hatsumi/remember-that-for-every-technique-you-think-you-can-fall-back-on/) [Masaaki Hatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-hatsumi/) > [When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/when-i-miss-class-for-one-day-i-know-it-when-i-miss-class-for-two/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [Then come the lights shining on you from above. You are a performer. You forget all you learned, the process of technique, the fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/then-come-the-lights-shining-on-you-from-above-you-are-a-performer/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Technique-bodily control-must be mastered only because the body must not stand in the way of the soul's expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-meri/technique-bodily-control-must-be-mastered-only-because-the-body-must/) [La Meri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-meri/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 Rudolf Nureyev > [The only critic is a full house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/the-only-critic-is-a-full-house/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [When I miss class for one day, I know it. When I miss class for two days, my teacher knows it. When I miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/when-i-miss-class-for-one-day-i-know-it-when-i-miss-class-for-two/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [The main thing is dancing, and before it withers away from my body, I will keep dancing till the last moment, the last drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/the-main-thing-is-dancing-and-before-it-withers-away-from-my-body-i/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [I approach dancing from a different angle than those who begin dancing at 8 or 9. Those who have studied from the beginning never question anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/i-approach-dancing-from-a-different-angle-than-those-who-begin/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [My feet are dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/my-feet-are-dogs/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [As long as my ballets are danced, I will live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/as-long-as-my-ballets-are-danced-i-will-live/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [Of course I have a personal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/of-course-i-have-a-personal-life/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [I’m really alive when I’m on stage,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/i-m-really-alive-when-i-m-on-stage/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [For me, purity of movement wasn't enough. I needed expression, more intensity, more mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/for-me-purity-of-movement-wasn-t-enough-i-needed-expression-more/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [We danced with one body, one soul... For me, Margot is my family. She is all I have, only her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/we-danced-with-one-body-one-soul-for-me-margot-is-my-family-she-is/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [I don't care if Margot is a Dame of the British Empire or older than myself. For me she represents eternal youth; there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/i-don-t-care-if-margot-is-a-dame-of-the-british-empire-or-older-than/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [What is art? It is not just nature, it is nurtured nature. It is intelligence applied to what physical ability you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/what-is-art-it-is-not-just-nature-it-is-nurtured-nature-it-is/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [There was simply from this quite early age the awareness that the only thing I wanted was to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/there-was-simply-from-this-quite-early-age-the-awareness-that-the/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [I really have to dance more often, and so I travel around. If I don't, I will crumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/i-really-have-to-dance-more-often-and-so-i-travel-around-if-i-don-t-i/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) > [You live as long as you dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/you-live-as-long-as-you-dance/) [Rudolf Nureyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) [Explore all 18 Rudolf Nureyev quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/) ## 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": "Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rudolf Nureyev" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when-you-run-out-of-inspiration/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ballet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when-you-run-out-of-inspiration/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/rudolf-nureyev-29098_ballet_technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when_868921.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.” — Rudolf Nureyev", "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": "Rudolf Nureyev", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-nureyev/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Technique is what you fall back...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when-you-run-out-of-inspiration/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-nureyev/technique-is-what-you-fall-back-on-when-you-run-out-of-inspiration/#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 } } ] } ```