As a little girl, I used to write stories, but by my teenage years, I got out of the habit.

If you start a new career at 40, you've still got another 35 years to go.

I know some writers are meticulous planners, but I'm not one of them.

I love 19th century fiction and, in particular, fiction written by and about women.

I learned that life is filled with ups and downs and it's just about how you react to them.

My personal style at this point in my life is more audio; it's more driven on less visual and more musicality. But because of my upbringing, my fabulous mentors and teachers that I've had throughout my dance journey or career, I also possess a style that is of the past. It was just a matter of me reaching back.

When people think of biblical movies, they imagine sweeping epics like 'The Ten Commandments.' But 'The Gospel According to St. Matthew' is essentially a documentary about Jesus. It made me aware of how real life and personal experience can create more breathtaking, sensitive cinema than more sophisticated techniques.

I find myself unable to let go of the sense that human beings are somehow special, and that moment-to-moment human experience contains a certain unquantifiable essence. I still suspect there is something too quirky, too paradoxical, or too interpersonal to be imitated or re-created by machine life.