Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal communication (see body language) between humans or animals (bee 
dance, patterns of behavior such as a mating dance), motion in inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind), and certain musical 
forms or genres.

        Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as Folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet.  In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are 
dance disciplines while Martial arts 'kata' are often compared to dances.

       Dance can be directly participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic.  Dance movements may be without significance in them selves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many 
Asian dances.  Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

       Jazz dance originated from the African American vernacular dances of late 1800s to the mid-1900s.  An early popular "jazz dancer" was vaudeville star Joe Frisco in the 1910s. He danced in a loose-limbed style close to the ground, with eccentric steps, and juggled his derby and cigar.

     Until the middle of 1950s, the term "jazz dance" often referred to tap dance, because tap dancing (set to jazz music) was the main performance dance of the era.  During the later jazz era, popular forms of jazz dance were the Cakewalk, Black Bottom, Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, swing dancing and the related Lindy Hop.

     After the 1950s, pioneers such as Katherine Dunham took the essence of Caribbean traditional dance and made it into a performing art.  With the growing domination of other forms of entertainment music, jazz dance evolved on Broadway into a new, smooth, style taught today and known as Modern Jazz, while tap dance continued to evolve on its own.  The performance style was popularized by Bob Fosse’s work, such as Chicago, Cabaret, and The Pajama Game.

     Tap dance was born in the United States during the 
nineteenth century, and today is popular all around the
world.  The name comes from the tapping sound made
when the small metal plates on the dancer's shoes touch 
a hard floor.  This lively, rhythmic tapping makes the
performer not just a dancer, but also a percussive 
musician (and thus, for example, the American composer 
Morton Gould was able to compose a "concerto for tap 
dancer and orchestra").

    The Encyclopedia Britannica definition for tap dance is: A style of American theatrical dance using precise rhythmical patterns of foot movement and audible foot tapping.  It is derived from the traditional clog dance of northern England, the jigs and reels of Ireland and Scotland, and the rhythmic foot stamping of African dances.  Popular in 19th-century minstrel shows, versions such as "buck-and-wing" (danced vigorously in wooden-soled shoes) and "soft-shoe" (danced smoothly in soft-soled shoes) developed as separate techniques; by 1925 they had merged, and metal taps were attached to shoe heels and toes to produce a more pronounced sound.  The dance was also popular in variety shows and early musicals.

       Ballet is a specific academic dance form and technique which is taught in ballet schools according to specific methods.  There are many ballet schools around the world that specialize in various styles of ballet and different techniques offered.  Works of dance choreographed using this technique are called ballets, and usually include dance, mime, acting, and music (usually orchestral but occasionally vocal).  Ballet is best known for its unique features and techniques, such as pointe work, turn-out of the legs, and high extensions; its graceful, flowing, precise movements; and its ethereal qualities.

      While the idea of dance exists throughout history, traditions of narrative dance evolved in China, India, Indonesia and Ancient Greece.  Theatrical dance was well-established in the wider arena of ancient Greek theatre.  When the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it assimilated the Greek art and culture, dance along with it.  However, while dance continued to be important throughout the Middle Ages, in spite of occasional suppression by the Church, ballet did not emerge until the late 1400s in Italy.  Although Italy began the ballet tradition, it was the French that cemented it.  Incorporating some aspects of Italian ballet, French ballet gained prominence in France and eventually international influence. To this day, the majority of ballet vocabulary originates from French.

     While France was instrumental in early ballet, other countries and cultures soon adopted the art form.  The most notable of these was Russia, and Russian ballet has had great importance in its country and established a well-recognized tradition of ballet.  In the last century, the United States also developed its own traditions, most notably with choreographer George Balanchine.  Although interest in dance has expanded with time to include modern dance, jazz, flamenco and other forms, ballet is still performed and taught.

      After 1850, ballet began to wane in Paris and concentrate in Denmark and, most notably, Russia thanks to masters such as August Bournonville, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa.  In the late nineteenth century, orientalism was in vogue.  Colonialism brought awareness of Asian and African cultures, but distorted with disinformation and fantasy.  The East was often perceived as a faraway place where anything was possible, provided it was lavish, exotic and decadent.  Petipa appealed to popular taste with Pharaohs Daughter and later The Talisman and La Bayadère.  Petipa is best remembered for his collaborations with Tchaikovsky where he choreographed Swan Lake, The Nutcracker Suite and Sleeping Beauty all drawn from western folklore.  The classic tutu began to appear at this time.  It consisted of a short skirt supported by layers of crinoline that revealed the acrobatic legwork.  At times the classic tutu revealed more than the audience cared to see and it became customary to wear a leotard as an undergarment.