The rhetoric relating to the theory and pedagogy of dance is abundant with terms specifically associated with musical interpretation. Designations that are typically employed for articulatory aspects of musical sound contribute towards defining characteristics of movement. In this way, movement can be qualified in terms of legato-staccato. In the performative encounter between music, dance and the dancer, as with an instrumental group, the performers adjust these articulatory qualities. With regard to sound production, whilst the legato-staccato dichotomy is described by variables - such as the time interval between the extinction of one sound, and the attack of the following sound (offset-onset interval, Gabrielsson 1987), and the relative intensity of an attack between other attacks ? in the field of movement, this description appears less systematically. However, dance professionals (dancers and musicians) have an intuitive knowledge of these details. The aim of this research is to determine whether the articulatory characteristics of movement are understood in a holistic or a categorical (isolated from other dynamic characteristics, such as intensity, velocity etc.) manner. The differences in valuations between different attributed adjectives will allow the consideration of the compositional or holistic nature of legato and staccato qualities of movement. The results will contribute towards the advancement of the study of conciliation between dancers and musicians from the perspective of the intersubjectivity of the second person.