"I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do"
About this Quote
The subtext is less "I dislike hard work" than "I refuse the bargain". Ballet offers transcendence, but it often asks for conformity first: identical bodies, identical training, identical obedience. Farrell frames this as a personal choice, but the undertow is cultural. Mid-20th-century American ballet was busy professionalizing itself, importing European hierarchies and codifying taste - a world where being "disciplined" could mean being shaped, monitored, and sorted.
Coming from a dancer, the comment lands as both confession and critique. She isn't dismissing ballet's rigor; she's exposing its social function. Discipline becomes a gatekeeping language, a way to decide who belongs and who gets to be seen. When she says she "didn't feel like I wanted to do" that conformity, she's asserting that artistry can be a form of resistance - that a dancer's identity isn't just an instrument to be tuned, but a voice that can choose not to blend.
It's a quietly radical stance in a field that sells sameness as beauty.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Farrell, Suzanne. (2026, January 17). I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-didnt-care-too-much-for-ballet-because-you-had-74009/
Chicago Style
Farrell, Suzanne. "I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-didnt-care-too-much-for-ballet-because-you-had-74009/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-didnt-care-too-much-for-ballet-because-you-had-74009/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
