August Bournonville quotes:

Joy is a strength; intoxication, a weakness.

Mannerism is not character, and affectation is the avowed enemy of grace. Every dancer ought to regard his laborious art as a link in the chain of beauty, as a useful ornament for the stage, and this, in turn, as an important element in the spiritual development of nations.

It is a fine art because it strives for an ideal, not only in plastic but also in lyrical respect.

The beauty to which the Dance ought to aspire

The art of Mime encompasses all the feelings of the soul. The Dance, on the other hand, is essentially an expression of joy, a desire to follow the rhythms of the music.

It is not so much upon the number of exercises, as the care with which they are done, that progreses and skill depend.

The height of artistic skill is to know how to conceal the mechanical effort and strain beneath harmonious calm.

The beautiful always retains the freshness of novelty, while the astonishing soon grow tiresome.

The Dance can, with the aid of music, rise to the heights of poetry. On the other hand, through an excess of gymnastics it can also degenerate into buffoonery. So-called "difficult" feats can be executed by countless adepts, but the appearance of ease is achieved only by the chosen few.

The beauty to which the Dance ought to aspire is not dependent upon taste or pleasure, but is founded on the immutable laws of Nature.

The Dance is an art because it demands vocation, knowledge, and ability.