Participation in Dance, according to van der Leeuw

Many people get very different things out of dance, and everyone's experience of dance is different.  I began to wonder whether or not participation was necessary to understand the dance.  Plenty of people go to watch dance being performed, and I thought about if this viewing of the dance was enough to understand the concepts associated with dance.  van der Leeuw says that participation in dance is essential in order to be understood.  He says that in order to understand dance you have to participate to fully take in the rhythm and things associated with it.  (page 12) I think this is true as well, I think the concept is not fully experienced until you perform it yourself.