I am trying to show the world that we are all human beings and that color is not important. What is important is the quality of our work.

One of the processes of your life is to constantly break down that inferiority, to constantly reaffirm that I Am Somebody.

To be who you are and become what you are capable of is the only goal worth living.

Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.

Racism tears down your insides so that no matter what you achieve, you're not quite up to snuff.

Making dances is an act of progress; it is an act of growth, an act of music, an act of teaching, an act of celebration, an act of joy.

The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it's with you all the time.

My lasting impression of Truman Capote is that he was a terribly gentle, terribly sensitive, and terribly sad man.

But the dance speaks to everyone. Otherwise it wouldn't work.

Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.

Choreography is mentally draining, but there's a pleasure in getting into the studio with the dancers and the music.

With the muscle of integrity, we can turn intention into powerful action. That's how we can earn trust form our conscience, and can truly believe in ourselves.

I still do my comedy and my performance stuff and my acting so it's not all-consuming. But I do find myself drawing more and more these days.

The idea of directing was something that I always had in the back of my mind, and writing as well. I began to write screenplays when I was in my 20's.

Marriage was a goal. A family, for me as a young girl, was my image of what I hoped for. It was part of the big picture.

I celebrate every culture. I love the mix of cultures and I'm never going to change that because that's inspiring to me.

The full and joyful acceptance of the worst in oneself may be the only sure way of transforming it.

Why would our president close the embassy to the Vatican? Hopefully, it is not retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare.

The reason you have to say "Trust me" is that you haven't earned it and are forced to ask for it - BAD MOVE.

A lot can change between planning something and actually doing it. But maybe all that really matters is that anything is different at all.

In my early days I was a contract player at Universal and I had a wonderful mentor named Monique James, who was head of talent there, and she used to drag me on sets to do parts.