long lines, etc.

Melody is also a skill and a craft, though just like the other
(ultimately inseparable) domains of music, you never know when
inspiration could strike.

An example of a "well-crafted and skilled" long line, that I can admire,
though not have my socks blown off by it, is the 1st movement of Copland's
3rd Symphony. Definitely Boulanger-inspired craft there; but again, not
quite "delicious."

As for Brahms, in one sense, I'm surprised people have difficulty with
remembering passages from his works. Personally, my favorites are the
piano chamber music: the quartets, trios, quintet. Awesome tunes in
there. I hear them in my head (and hum'em) all the time.

I think that the "disorientation" that the ballet instructor was
experiencing may have been due more to rhythmic issues (which they, for
whatever reason, refer to as "lack of melody"). Brahms always has those
crazy hemiolas and phase-shifting thingys in his work. Those can
definitely throw off or make ambiguous where the "beat" is. Hence,
dancing could be tough.