--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dance exists first on this primordial…" description: "\"Dance exists first on this primordial level, not on an intellectual plane (even though it requires skill and intelligence). Its inmost substance cannot..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/sondra-horton-fraleigh-77182_ballet_dance-exists-first-on-this-primordial-le_2894222.jpg" --- # Dance exists first on this primordial level, not on an… ![“Dance exists first on this primordial level, not on an intellectual plane (even though it requires skill and intelligence). Its inmost substance cannot be reasoned, only experienced.” quote by Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/sondra-horton-fraleigh-77182_ballet_dance-exists-first-on-this-primordial-le_2894222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/sondra-horton-fraleigh-77182_ballet_dance-exists-first-on-this-primordial-le_2894222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/sondra-horton-fraleigh-77182_ballet_dance-exists-first-on-this-primordial-le_2894222.jpg) > “Dance exists first on this primordial level, not on an intellectual plane (even though it requires skill and intelligence). Its inmost substance cannot be reasoned, only experienced.” [Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dance originates from instinctual expression, beyond intellect, requiring lived experience. **In simple terms:** Dance is felt, not reasoned. Key Takeaway Experience dance physically, not just intellectually. Themes art instinct experience Mood reflective artistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dance therapy - improvisation workshops - cultural festivals Key Concepts embodiment non‑cognitive expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you feel dance rather than think about it? - What non‑verbal arts resonate with you? A Different Perspective Intellectual analysis may miss the visceral essence of dance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ballet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet/) [Ballet dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-dance/) [Ballet dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ballet-dancing/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dance Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance-exists-3031077/) [Exists Primordial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-primordial-4080376/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-plane-4080379/) [Intelligence Inmost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-inmost-4080378/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Planes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planes/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Substance Reasoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance-reasoned-4080377/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[... Dance\] involves every possible feeling (as potential), because it is of the body, which is lived (inescapably) as a body of feeling. Some… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-horton-fraleigh/dance-involves-every-possible-feeling-as-potential-because-it-is-of/) [Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) > [There is a dance only you can do, that exists only in you, here and now, always changing, always true. Are you willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-roth/there-is-a-dance-only-you-can-do-that-exists-only-in-you-here-and-now/) [Gabrielle Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-roth/) > [I do everything the man does, only backwards and in high heels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/i-do-everything-the-man-does-only-backwards-and-in-high-heels/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) > [Dance, dance, dance till you drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/dance-dance-dance-till-you-drop/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I took ballet dancing forever, and there was a natural transition into acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-greer/i-took-ballet-dancing-forever-and-there-was-a-natural-transition-into/) [Judy Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-greer/) > [The best physique I ever had was when I was ballet dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-bennett/the-best-physique-i-ever-had-was-when-i-was-ballet-dancing/) [Manu Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-bennett/) > [We do ballet dancing, Irish dancing, Scottish, jazz, tap - whatever country we're in or whatever culture that we'd like to present to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watkins/we-do-ballet-dancing-irish-dancing-scottish-jazz-tap-whatever-country/) [Emma Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watkins/) > [Badminton is like ballet dancing. It requires a lot of control, strength, mind play and measured movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aamir-khan/badminton-is-like-ballet-dancing-it-requires-a-lot-of-control/) [Aamir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aamir-khan/) > [One of the few things in dance to match the Royal Ballet's curtain calls is the Royal Ballet's dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barnes/one-of-the-few-things-in-dance-to-match-the-royal-ballet-s-curtain/) [Clive Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barnes/) > [I've got used to the fact -​ just about -​ that whatever I do is going to be compared to the other Beatles. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-ve-got-used-to-the-fact-just-about-that-whatever-i-do-is-going-to/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [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/) > [On dancing on pointe: Why don't they just get taller girls?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/on-dancing-on-pointe-why-don-t-they-just-get-taller-girls/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [Dance till the stars come down from the rafters Dance, Dance, Dance 'till you drop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/dance-till-the-stars-come-down-from-the-rafters-dance-dance-dance/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I was ballet dancing at four, playing piano by six, and doing commercials by 12. When I was 21, I was on the number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselyn-sanchez/i-was-ballet-dancing-at-four-playing-piano-by-six-and-doing/) [Roselyn Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselyn-sanchez/) > [Ballet dancing is arduous, strenuous activity. Students are engaged in physical training that rivals the training Olympic athletes undergo. At the same time, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-balanchine/ballet-dancing-is-arduous-strenuous-activity-students-are-engaged-in/) [George Balanchine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-balanchine/) ## More by Sondra Horton Fraleigh > [Art is an attempt to give substance to existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-horton-fraleigh/art-is-an-attempt-to-give-substance-to-existence/) [Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) > [ “\[... Dance\] involves every possible feeling (as potential), because it is of the body, which is lived (inescapably) as a body of feeling. Some… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-horton-fraleigh/dance-involves-every-possible-feeling-as-potential-because-it-is-of/) [Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) [Explore all 3 Sondra Horton Fraleigh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) ## 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": "Dance exists first on this primordial level, not on an intellectual plane (even though it requires skill and intelligence). 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