While most people in the arts think they have to be constantly looking forward to be edgy and creative....the real secret of creativity is to go back and remember.

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.

I have not wanted to intimidate audiences. I have not wanted my dancing to be an elitist form. That doesn't mean I haven't wanted it to be excellent.

Ultimately there is no such thing as failure. There are lessons learned in different ways.

Our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.

No one is born with skill. It is developed through exercise, through repetition, through a blend of learning and reflection that's both painstaking and rewarding. And it takes time.

If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that's failure by erosion

You don't get into the mood to create – it's discipline.

Life is about moving, it’s about change. And when things stop doing that they’re dead.

More often than not I've found, a rut is a consequence of sticking to tried and tested methods that don't take into account how you or the world has changed.

If art is the bridge between what you see in your mind and what the world sees, then skill is how you build that bridge.

You can't believe everything people tell you - not even if those people are your own brain.

The poorest people sometimes have the richest minds.

I read a lot when I'm travelling and always have a couple of books on the go.

Two goddesses now must Cyprus adore; The Muses are ten, and the Graces are four; Stella's wit is so charming, so sweet her fair face, She shines a new Venus, a Muse, and a Grace.

When elected, I will make education funding a top priority and I believe we must ensure those dollars reach our children and the classroom

A real miracle's a reminder and a warning that the line that separates the possible from the impossible isn't as firm as we like to think it is.

When you have 4,000 people killed in Chicago by guns, from the beginning of the presidency of Barack Obama, his hometown, you have to have stop-and-frisk.

A good teacher is one who helps you become who you feel yourself to be. A good teacher is also one who says something that you won't understand until 10 years later.

Most people don't know that I invented the selfie.

Our first experience of God is so important, we either experience Him as the police guard that wants to punish or as Creative Love that awaits.