One of the judges at our recent competition was interviewed by the local newspaper and asked what the most important thing she looked for in the dance competitors. Her answer was musicality. It goes beyond just staying on beat, but phrasing the music , and how the couple feels and expresses the music while dancing.

I have't done lots phrasing (unless it is choreographed) with my dancing and I think it is time for me to really dig into this area of dance. I'm beginning to think that I'm in some type of music school now--and this is needed to take my dancing to higher level.

How have some of you improved your musicality? What are some exercises or things we can practice to improve this area of our dancing?

Anonymous. To be a great dancer you must know how music is composed. Dance music should be eight bar phrased.That is any Latin or Modern. Lets pick an easy one . Elvis Are you Lonesome Tonight Modern Waltz very easy to count this one. 8 bar introduction followed by 10 blocks of 8 bars. Some other disks may have a 4 bar introduction followed by 8 blocks of 8 bars. For those who are not with it a Waltz is 3/4 ( three beats to a bar)
Foxtrot 4/4 ( four beats to a bar )Tango 2/4 ( two beats to a bar )
Quickstep 4/4 ( four beats to a bar )
V. Waltz 3/4 ( three beats to a bar)On top of that we have the speed the music is played called Tempo.That is bars per minute.Just to make it more difficult in the Foxtrot the 1 st beat is heavy. The 2nd beat is light. The 3rd beat is heavy, but not as heavy as the 1 st.and the 4th beat is light. Still it goes on. There is a difference in the way the 8 bars are played. In particular 7 and 8 . This is how we can pick the end of a phrase and know we are starting again on the 1 st bar of the next 8 bar phrasing. In the Samba phrasing really does show up. If you decided to take two bars out of the Samba because your not pleased with that section. You will have to replace those 2 bars or else you will be completely out. And so it goes on. That's if you wish to be a great dancer and rise to another level. How to improve this. Count every bit of music played, then watch how many of your friends are doing a strong movement on a light bar completely out of character with the music.

Don: Excellent explanation !!. I chatted once with a fellow after he and his partner had performed and asked how many times he had listened to the piece they had performed to. His reply was "Over a hundred anyway". I scoffed and learned by experience that it is "At least" a hundred times and each time you learn more and more about the phrasing and inticacies of the composition. Owen

Iquite agree with you I make it my prioriyy to train at least one hour a day and we go out dancing fuur times a weewk but only for fun now you see i am sixty years old.

This is a reply to Don's comment.
learning the phrasing of a particular piece by listening to it 'at least 100 times' is hardly a way to improve the musicality of your dancing. What if that piece isn't played? You can't learn EVERY piece.
Developing musicality is difficult. You could learn to play a musical instrument and after 5 or more years, your musicality would improve. But few would embark upon this route.
Picking out the beats is easy. Picking out the first beat of the bar is fairly easy and comes with a bit of practice. Picking out the 7th and 8th bar of an 8 bar sequence is more difficult, but you need to do this if you want to have real musicality in your dancing (so you can prepare for the end of the 8-bar sequence and a strong start of a new one).
getting the feel of a piece of music you've not heard before and interpreting it is the holy grail and requires great musicality and dancing skills. There is no short cut - only serious listening or studying music and serious dance practice, over a period of time.

Phil. Yes I agree . But at one time I didn't have a clue about the music. I new all the quicks and slows and nothing about phrasing. Now I count as practice any dance tune that I hear played, whether it be Samba or Jive or Waltz. I haven't got to the stage that a friend of mine is, and most likely never will. They could walk into a hall where the music is playing and tell which part of the eight bar phrasing is being played. In the trade they have a nickname for this. Elephant Ears.

Dear Don,
Please figure how particular the 7th and 8th bar . Great thanks.
ylchen