Musicality

Joan Acocella in the NewYorker
" 'Musicality' is one of those terms that dance people use all the time while other people stand around and nod and have no idea what is being referred to. I would say that musicality in dance is three things. One is intellectual: the choreographer makes the structure of the dance reflect that of the score. "
(In our dances, the steps are designed to reflect the prevailing mood of the style: Foxtrot & Waltz - smooth and progressive, Latin - earthy and in one space.)
"A second meaning is aesthetic: the dancer will weave her movements into the musical line, obeying it or teasing it, but in any case hearing it, responding to it, and not just dancing while it plays."
(I'm hoping to get to respond to the musical breaks in West Coast Swing. The dance includes the opportunity to pose when music ceases.)
"This yields the third, moral meaning: the dancer's primary interest is not to display her technique. However hard she worked at it, she must now give it away, to what the music calls for."
(Here, Acocella gets into performance art and goes on to suggest a show to attend. I just get to take a lesson or twoin musicality.)