Dancing Defined
from the Art of Dancing, Edward Ferrero, 1859
Dancing has been defined as a "graceful movement of the body, adjusted by art to the measures or tunes of instruments, or of voice;" and again,
"agreeable to the true genius of the art of expressing the sentiments of the mind, or of the passions, by measured steps or bounds made in
cadence, by regulated motions of the figure and by graceful gestures; all performed to the sound of musical instruments or the voice."
But, although both definitions are correct enough, might not dancing more properly be said to be the effect of a natural and spontaneous desire to
move the limbs in harmony with the cadences of music, and that its frequent use has resulted in its conformation to the rules of art.