Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia, It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques.

Jazz dance is shared by a large range of dance styles. Before the 1950s, jazz dance relating to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance, Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins.

Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely performed in musical theater.

Contemporary dance is a dance performance genre that developed during the mid twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and Europe.