Hi to All,
Would someone please write the definitions to the following three terms:

1) Rhythm
2) Phrase
3) Timing

In what order of importance would you place these three terms?

I believe 'anymouse' could help with this one.

I'll put my head on the block and try to answer this one
Also, I'm assuming we're talking about the relationship between music and dancing, not just about music. Rhythm is the most difficult, so I'll leave that till last
***Timing***
This usually refers to being on the beat, dancing at the correct speed, and starting figures at the appropriate beat of the bar. So when someone says “dancing out of time” they usually mean either or both of “dancing too fast/slow” or as an example “starting a waltz natural turn on beat 2 instead of 1”

***phrase**
A phrase in the music refers to a segment of the music (usually 4 or 8 bars) which ‘makes a statement' For example, the song ‘True Love'
(I) Give..to
You… and you
Give…..to
Me
(((end of first 4 bars - each line is a bar))))
True
Love
True
Love…….and
((((end of second 4 bars)))))

and so on.
Good phrasing means interpreting these ‘segments' (i.e. bars) in a way which seems good and looks good (‘good' is hard to define here – it's all about artistic interpretation of course.

******Rhythm*****
Difficult to define. Here's something..
The rhythm of a piece of music depends on several things – the tempo at which it's played, the ‘repetition' of certain accents (e.g. beats in the bar, but more than that) and syncopation (accenting notes not on the beats). there may be 2 or more interlocking rhythms as well (think of bolero where the melody line is simple, but the accompaniment is more complex – pity the poor drummer!).
How does rhythm affect dancing?. Well, lots of music is 4 beats to the bar, but the different ‘rhythm' - accenting and tempo - make some of it foxtrot music, some of it rhumba, cha-cha, quickstep, and so on.

Ok someone else have a go

I think you did more than an adequate job !

Thank you Phil,

/*The rhythm of a piece of music depends on several things – the tempo at which it's played, the ‘repetition' of certain accents (e.g. beats in the bar, but more than that) and syncopation (accenting notes not on the beats). there may be 2 or more interlocking rhythms as well.*/

So to be in 'Rhythm' with your dancing, doesn't just mean starting a new figure, or repeating one, on the first beat in a bar (measure) of music.

Another piece of good advice is given by Terence:

/* The WHOLE point of dance ( my opinion ) is to interpret the music to the way I feel it, and not conform to a strict set of rules ( still retaining the fundamentals )

All you aspiring dancers who read this board, please note what Phil and Terence have written. Don't reduce your dancing to being robotic.

lluv2Dance. Regarding dancing in Rhythm.We can all go to youtube and look for ourselves. If you can point me to any of our top performers who dance out of Rhythm then I am listening. The Foxtrot is the dance that has been the most mentioned.
If we go to Latin and the Rumba. Is one a robot for dancing on the correct beat and in time with the music.
In the Waltz you wouldn't dream of dancing step two of a natural on beat one would you.
It would seem a couple of you with years of dancing between you have been doing it wrong in the Foxtrot, which would indicate your time has been spent on the Social scene and not in competition..
No disrespect intended. But harsh words are needed sometimes...

Don,
I'm not sure what you are implying. Do you mean myself and Terrence2 are just social dancers? I think you know better than that.

As for dancing step 2 of a Nat on beat 2, is just silly. Please read, Phil's excellent definition on 'RHYTHM' and then your own.

lluv2Dance. The word Rhythm is used in a broad sense and usually refers to the accentuated beats of the music which recur regularly. These dance orchestra leaders I dont think play that strong one , a weaker two , a stronger three but not as strong as one and a not so strong four so that you can dance everything back to front.
Would you agree that music came first and then dance to fit the music and not the other way around.
If I have understood you correctly you are of the opinion that I can dance on whatever set of beats that I like.Tell me . In the Foxtrot do you deliberately do your introductory step on 1 2 and the first of your Feather on 3 4. If you do why. And if you don't then you are dancing in the correct Rhythm. Bit of a trap that one.
Surely your advise here to the readers is not to take off without any regard for the music on any beat they feel like.
I've just been looking at the very excellent demonstration of the Bolero at the opening page. What do you know. Eight bar phased and the leading steps on the first beats of the bar of music. Would you dance it any different to that rhythmwise.

I'm afraid this post has become too deep for me. So what I'm going to do is run away, screaming of course.

Hi serendipity
I'm not sure what exactly your point is. Nobody would deliberately dance the first step of a waltz natural turn on beat 2. In foxtrot i think most would be uncomfortable starting a feather step on step 3. but you might not start a feather step exaclty on beat 1. We've had this discussion before.
Music did come before dancing, (Or did it?)but i don't agree with you on
""These dance orchestra leaders I dont think play that strong one , a weaker two , a stronger three but not as strong as one and a not so strong four so that you can dance everything back to front.""""
If you listen to the 'standards' (Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Gershwin etc) sung by, for example Ella Fitzgerald, you will hear PRECISELY that, in a subtle way. It's the nature of the music, and hence of the dance. Foxtrot is a beautiful dance because there is so much you can do with the music.

"If I have understood you correctly you are of the opinion that I can dance on whatever set of beats that I like."

That's overstating it a bit, in that most wouldn't take arbitrary leeway, but it is ultimately true.

You can do whatever you want, provided that you KNOW what character will result from your decision, and that you have CHOSEN that character to SKILLFULLY build part of a greater whole.

This is very different from placing something arbitrarily or carelessly against the music because you either don't know that you are doing it or don't care what will happen as a result.

Ultimatly, it's only "wrong" if you can't "sell" it as part of an overall idea. Even if it's technically "right" in that each individual detail comes literally from the book, it can still be "wrong" if the overall effect is not convincing.

To address that little example, no, we wouldn't generally put the 2nd step of a waltz figure on the first beat. But there are a number of situations where we would put what is ordinarily the first step of a figure at a later point in the music than usual, because we've put another step in front of it. The result isn't simply the ordinary figure displaced, but something new.