"Have you ever seen how a plant slowly grows? First it builds a stem; then as that stem grows and ever grows shoots spring forth from it, and develop in their own particular direction. The shoots grow, but only insomuch as the stem supports them: if the stem stops growing, or becomes dead inside, the shoots too will die, and fall to the ground. But if the stem keeps growing, and gets stronger and stronger, the shoots too, will prosper, and multiply, till the whole stem is covered with them.
"Thus must you work as a dancer. The shoots of your many talents and skills you develop will multiply, but only insomuch as the stem from whence they all spring, the basis of your training, your love for the art, keeps growing and living, and putting forth these shoots. So each time you acquire a new skill tell yourself that you acquire it in the name of your passion for the art only; thus will you be certain that the stem is kept alive and maintains its growth, which, in your art, is Life itself.
"So strive not after perfection in many different skills, but focus on the basis, the root of these skills. Never measure your artistic worth according to the number of skills you have; but always strive first to keep alive within yourself the love of the art. That alone makes you a dancer, an artist, and the most glorious of all, a human being."
-The Living Dancer
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