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La danse se regarde en silence.

La danse se regarde en silence.
The dance is watched in silence.
From Lesson 246:The pronominal passive (se)·French

Questions & Answers about La danse se regarde en silence.

Why use se regarde instead of the standard passive est regardée?
French often prefers this structure, called the pronominal passive, for general statements, habits, or rules involving inanimate subjects (things, not people). While La danse est regardée is grammatically correct, La danse se regarde sounds much more natural and idiomatic for a general truth.
Doesn't se regarde literally mean "watches itself"?
Yes, literally it translates to "The dance watches itself." Because a dance cannot physically watch anything, French speakers automatically understand this structure as a passive action happening to the subject: "The dance is watched."
Could I use this structure if I wanted to say who is watching the dance?
Usually, no. The pronominal passive is used when the "doer" of the action is general, unimportant, or obvious. If you want to specify who is doing the watching (e.g., "The dance is watched by the judges"), you should use the standard passive: La danse est regardée par les juges, or just use an active sentence.
Why is it en silence and not dans le silence?
En silence is a set phrase used to describe the manner in which an action is performed, effectively meaning "silently." The preposition en is frequently used directly before a noun without an article (le or la) to describe a state or a way of doing something.

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