What is "dance pad"

n. A plastic or metal pad used for playing dancing video games.

A dance pad, also known as a dance mat, dance platform, flitter deck, or jitter deck is a flat electronic game controller used for input in dance games. Most dance pads are divided into a 3×3 matrix of square panels for the player to stand on, with some or all of the panels corresponding to directions or actions within the game. Some dance pads also have extra buttons outside of the main stepping area, such as "Start" and "Select". Pairs of dance pads are often joined side-by-side for certain gameplay modes.

Popular arcade games such as Dance Dance Revolution, In the Groove, and Pump It Up use large steel dance platforms connected to the arcade cabinet, whereas versions for home consoles usually use smaller (often flexible) plastic pads. These home pads are specifically made for systems such as the GameCube, Wii, Dreamcast (Japan only), PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but can also be used in computer simulators such as StepMania through the use of special adapters.