Irish stepdance many this was a betrayal of tradition, but to some it was a way of expanding Irish culture and became widely accepted. Following after Riverdance was Lord of the Dance and many other theatrical productions based on Irish stepdance. Michael Flatley, an Irish stepdancer, became a well known name within these shows. Two types of shoes are worn in Irish stepdance; hard shoes, which make sounds similar to tap shoes, and soft shoes (called Ghillies), which are similar to ballet slippers. The dances for soft shoe and hard shoe are generally different and go by different names. Different music with
Riverdance 11 August 1994, in response to the Rwandan genocide of May/June 1994, the RTÉ video 'Riverdance for Rwanda' was launched to help raise money for Irish relief agencies in Rwanda. In November 1994, Riverdance, the original seven-minute version, was invited to perform in London at the prestigious Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Prince Charles. The act, which took place on 28 November at Dominion Theatre, was introduced on stage by Sir Terry Wogan. Earlier that month, tickets went on sale for "Riverdance: The Show", exceeding IR£1million in three weeks. "Riverdance: The Show" opened at the Point Theatre in