"First of all, you are a human being; and because you are a human being, you want to become more than a human being: you want to become an artist. And yet you do not realize that the highest, loftiest thing about being an artist is being human! The greatest part of the artist is the human being inside: no higher step is there to be reached in becoming an artist, than to become human again. You think that you aspire to become more than a human being: an artist. You think this because you view art as a superhuman attribute, superior skill, superior technique, and you want to excel at the tradition of ballet, of any sort of dance.
"And I tell you there is no greater art, than the inspiration of the human heart, human nature, human feeling! There is no greater knowledge than the intuition which makes us grasp the work of art, on the stage, on the screen, on the canvas. There is no loftier learning than the unveiling of the raw feeling, no higher understanding than that of the heart, of pure artistic delight. You believe that dance is a matter of tradition, of coded steps, of set rules and of athletic skill. You regard the acquisition of technique, the physicality of traditional exercises as the aim in itself, as the only way towards your dreams, your ideals, the only way of achieving your success.
"I will teach you to dance as a human being, as the wonderful, divine creature you truly are. I will teach you to learn dance as a sacred task, a holy revelation, because dance is art and art in itself is sacred. I will teach you to merge your body with the music, and to make yourself the expression of your feeling. You believe only virtuosity in the set steps of a definite style of dance will allow you to express yourself, that you need to become an athlete, a superman, a prodigy in order to be a dancer, and you strive with the sweat of your brow and all the energy in your limbs to become that athlete, to do more fouettes, more pirouettes, more precise steps, more and more precise, more and more detailed, more and more impressive.
"And yet I will teach you to use movement as Life itself, as the true mirror of your soul. I will teach you that movement, the one movement which proceeds straight from Life itself, is not fettered by rules, traditions, codes. Movement is the language of the soul and of your own heart: it becomes the visible breath of music, of words. Music is the feeling; words are the thought: and when these two are combined and that they are conveyed by the body through movement the entire feeling and thinking man is brought to life. Then will you be an artist, but first of all, and most glorious, you will be a human being.
"For being human is more glorious even than being an artist; being human will allow you to be a more sublime dancer than ever an athlete could achieve. Do not think in steps and in counts: but think in feelings, thoughts, and the endless flow of the music as a divine thread. Make of movement the expression of Life, vibrating, pulsating, palpitating Life.
"Dwell on another thought: skill is not outside of yourself, set by rules exteriorly determined. You have the skill inside of yourself, and you bring it out through hard work and passion. Find the Life within yourself, find it in your beating heart, in your flesh, your bones, the blood coursing in your veins, before seeking skill and technique. Then will you become one with the music, with your expression, with your soul, with your heart. Then will you be the most glorious artist of all: the Willing, Thinking, Feeling, Moving, Living Man."
- Zonchoroai, the Living Dancer
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