Mime derives from the Greek word "to imitate everything." A mime uses movement to create an illusion of reality and to tell a dramatic story through movement. Mime can be used by storytellers to nonverbally "describe" characters, as well as, to create the illusion of objects and places.

Greeks and Romans loved mime, as did the medieval court jesters and the religious Morality play actors of the Middle Ages. Oriental drama is based on mime and uses gesture in a stylized form. Renaissance actors of the Italian "Commedia dell'arte" street theatre often traveled from place to place, tacking up their scenarios (outlines of scripts) on the inside of their stages and theatre wagons. They improvised the drama with mime and frequently inserted short, nonverbal comic bits called "lazzi" which they placed within their scenarios, especially when the audience grew restless. "Harlequin" and "Colombine" and "Pierrot" are a few of the better-known cartoon-like stock characters who have evolved into some of our present day mimes and clowns.

Mime is the intersection between dance and drama; it exercises creative imagination, illuminates dramatic themes, and develops nonverbal communication skills. Students with strongly developed kinesthetic intelligence who are not interested in competitive athletics have found mime a saving grace in junior high school. Decoding and encoding of the nonverbal message are strengthened through activities in observation, awareness, facial expression, and mime/movement techniques. Expressive communication is an important factor in today's business world. The more alternative movements a person has available, has practiced, the more flexible his/her use of movement will be when new movements are needed to communicate in new situations. This is a life long skill.