Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (Jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the dance. It is widely performed as a part of musical theater. Rhythm tap focuses more on musicality, and practitioners consider themselves to be a part of the Jazz tradition.

The sound is made by shoes with a metal "tap" on the heel and toe. Tap shoes can be bought at most dance shops.

"Soft-Shoe" is a rhythm form of tap dancing that doesn't require special shoes, and while rhythm is generated by tapping of the feet, it also uses sliding of the feet (even sometimes using scattered sand on the stage to enhance the sound of the performer's sliding feet) more often than modern rhythm tap. It preceded what is currently considered to be modern tap, but has since declined in popularity.

Tap dance has roots in African American dancing such as the Juba Dance, English Lancashire Clog dancing, and probably most notably Irish stepdancing. It is believed to have begun in the mid-1800s during the rise of minstrel shows. White performers would imitate Southern blacks and satirize their dance forms while incorporating step-dancing. In later minstrel shows, black performers in blackface would play roles in which they imitated the Irish imitation of black dance forms, further mixing the two. Famous as Jack Oxendine, William Henry Lane became one of the few black performers to join an otherwise white minstrel troupe, and is widely considered to be the most famous forebear of tap dance.

Tap or tapped may refer to:

Dance is a type of art that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, performed in many different cultures and used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.

Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).

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. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, 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.

Anna Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. She rose to fame after her performance as Natalie Keener in Up in the Air, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her other work includes The Twilight Saga, Camp, Rocket Science, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 50/50, and the Broadway musical High Society.

Kendrick "caught the [acting] bug" at the age of 10, when she caught a bus from Portland, Maine, to New York City so that she could attend auditions. Kendrick's first acting role was as Dinah in the Broadway musical High Society in August 1998 when she was 12 years old, a performance for which she earned Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award, and Tony Award nominations, making her the third-youngest Tony Award nominee.

Kendrick went on to appear in a number of other theater productions, including the musical A Little Night Music, before making her film debut in the 2003 musical comedy Camp, for which she was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category at the 2004 Chlotrudis Awards and Best Debut Performance Independent Spirit Award for her portrayal of Fritzi Wagner.

Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.

Born in New York City to Maurice Hines Sr. and Alma Hines, Gregory Hines began tapping when he was around three years old, and began dancing semi-professionally at the age of five. Since then, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang. The two brothers were known as "The Hines Kids", making nightclub appearances, and later as "The Hines Brothers". When their father joined, Maurice Hines, Sr., the name changed again in 1963 to "Hines, Hines, and Dad".

Hines performed as the lead singer and musician in a rock band called Severance in 1975/1976 based in Venice, California. Severance was one of the house bands at an original music club called Honky Hoagies Handy Hangout, otherwise known as the 4H Club. In 1986, he sang a duet with Luther Vandross, entitled "There's Nothing Better Than Love", which reached the #1 position on the Billboard R&B charts.