Floating, gliding or sliding refers to a group of footwork-oriented dance

Dance

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

 techniques and styles closely related to popping

Popping (dance)

Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit...

, which attempt to create the illusion that the dancer's body is floating smoothly across the floor or that the legs are walking while the body travels in unexpected directions. It is most famous for its use by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 and his moonwalk

Moonwalk (dance)

The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became most popular around the world after Michael Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25:...

 (a.k.a. the backslide), but is commonly used in popping with much greater variation.

The terms floating, gliding and sliding can also be used to refer to more specific areas, though still closely related:

Floating

Floating is a simple traveling technique of alternating between the toe and the heel of the feet to make the body float smoothly across the floor. It is normally performed sideways.

Gliding

Gliding uses the float technique but also adds a push and a pull to cause the feet to glide over the floor, taking up more space and creating a bigger illusion. Gliding can be performed in many directions, but most common are the sideglide and the circleglide.

Sliding

Sliding and airwalking are a kind of walks that make it appear as if the dancer is walking in the air or on ice, with no friction under their feet, while traveling in unexpected directions. Common sliding moves are the forward-, backslide, and the "moonwalk" which is a technique very similar to the backslide popularized by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

.