I'm not entirely clear on what you are asking. Perhaps this little story will provide some answer. I'm in my 60s and have been singing folk music since I was in my 20s. I've always been attracted to songs in 3/4 time and (at least I fancy that) I sing them the best - really feel them in my soul. When I was in my 40s I was at a week long folk music camp in Massachusetts (Pinewoods). It was the custom to have a dance, mostly contras and squares, every night after dinner before the evening program. I had been contra dancing for a number of years and was in the midst of having a couple of really enjoyable contra dances with a woman named Sarah. And then the band said they were going to play a waltz and go on a short break. As I said, the two previous contra dances had been really great and it was very awkward as I started to slink away from Sarah because I really could not waltz. She wanted to waltz and stopped me in a friendly way and asked if I would waltz with her. I told her that I had tried many times, even taking workshops on waltzing - and really couldn't do it. Undaunted, she told me that of course I could, grabbed my hand, and we started in. To this day I'm not sure why or how, but with Sarah I was able to waltz, and enjoyed it, and was able to and have waltzed ever since. Now, here's the part that might give you a partial answer. Later that night, when I was singing a song in 3/4 time, I experienced something remarkable, because my body could feel the waltz beat in a way that I had never experienced before. And I know that I enjoyed singing that 3/4 time song, feeling in a profound way the harmony between my body and my soul. That feeling has never left. So, I think that the music would be less without dance. I have a hard time even conceiving of dance without music.
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