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
Billy Pierce (choreographer) Billy Pierce (choreographer) Billy Pierce (14 June 1890 – 11 April 1933) was an African American choreographer, dancer and dance studio owner who has been credited with the invention of the Black Bottom dance that became a national craze in the mid-1920s. The son of two freedmen, Dennis and Nellie (née Shorter) Pierce, William Joseph Pierce was born in Purcellville, Virginia. His parents were truck farmers, but Billy, an only child, went to college, matriculating first at Storer College and then attending Howard University. Pierce started out as a journalist, eventually moving to Chicago to write for the "Chicago Defender",