Chita Rivera Quotes

You take a plug and put it in a socket, and that's what the theatre is-it lights up right away. You speak, and they respond immediately.

Theatre is immediate gratification

Mother loved dance so much that she thought (ballerina) Margot Fonteyn should be the president.

It's communication - that's what theatre is all about.

The spirit of dance is an amazing thing. When the body and the spirit meet, it's a good thing.

I'm bugged because I can't believe I can't speak every language there is. But I feel I can when I sit and am with somebody, and I can dance for them. Because dance is dialogue without language.

Many of the shows I danced in don't exist on film, but they do exist in the memories of those who were in the theater for that single moment in time. And nothing can replace that.

My neighborhood was a great neighborhood; it was filled with all sorts of ethnic groups and things. So I grew up thinking I was a human being.

You can feel whether an audience is tightened up and pulled back. Of course the opposite is an audience like we've been having in LA, which is fabulous.

We were taking collections for people with AIDS in New York around Easter.

I have to make this love affair believable enough. It's very European.

I can tell you where my Tonys are. They're in a beautiful place in my living room, in a glass cabinet.

You know I've got a generator that's still popping.

I do believe that separation can be a bit damaging at times. To be happy about yourself and your culture and all of that is necessary and fulfilling, but the whole tapestry is what's important.

American audiences are affected by what the English people think.

My hairdresser and I found ourselves shopping at Bloomingdale's with nothing to do for days.

I'm not comfortable with just me, me, me. That's boring.

I love life. I love the live theater.

Looking back doesn't have to be painful.

I was busy welcoming a new experience. I had never done a movie before.

San Francisco has just blown us all away. I also understand Angels in America didn't do well there.

It's important that the kids stay busy. It's important that they have something to focus on, and something that they feel good about.

Beauty is not everything!

I've played American, Italian, Greek, French. I've been really lucky that way.

Somebody told me once I wasn't Latin enough, and that made me laugh

After about 15 minutes, you feel that you're winning them over.

I have always loved a challenge.

I really never felt any tremendous aggravation or separation.

I never like the way I look. I don't. I never look at myself.

A lot of Americans like happy endings, but life does not necessarily have a happy ending.

I have a blessed life. I really do. I have a great family, a great daughter, I love life, I love living, I love people. I love all the blessings that God's given me.

I love the theater because the theater is alive. The audience is right there.

I never feel as though I'm ever, ever alone.

I love to laugh, I love the joy of life, and I love sharing it.

I have been very lucky, I have only had one bad experience.