Actor Counting On Dream Victory

Though he plays a book publisher in his new CBS sitcom, legendary dancer Gregory Hines fantasizes that his character in “The Gregory Hines Show” will lace up his tap shoes.

“I’m hoping for a dream sequence where I challenge Savion Glover to a tap duel and beat him, which would be dreaming,” says Hines, 51. “He’s the best I’ve ever seen. He may be the best ever.

“But I wouldn’t tell him that. He’s 23. I’ll wait till he’s 25.”

Savion, star of the current Broadway smash, “Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk,” co-starred with Hines in “Jelly’s Last Jam” and “Black and Blue.” The two also appeared in the big-screen “Tap,” with Sammy Davis Jr.

“I tell Savion, ‘Slow it down for me. I can steal it if you slow it down to half speed,”’ says Hines, who has a 3-year-old grandson. “I’m always asking him, ‘Show me. Help me get that step.’

“His moves are so complicated, I need special tutoring from him.”

A hoofer since age 3, Hines finds acting harder than dancing.

“Dancing is the easiest way to express myself,” he says. “Acting I’ve had to work at. It feeds my soul differently than dancing.

“There are similarities between the feelings of performing and getting into a groove, or zone - being in a scene where everything’s popping and everything’s relaxed.”