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
Ken Ard (dancer) Ken Ard (dancer) Ken Ard is an American dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. Born in Oakland, California in 1960, he grew up in a home visited by a large number of jazz greats. Joe Williams was a personal friend of his father, while bassist Paul Chambers his uncle, Carmen McRae a close friend of his aunt, and Ard would assist Nina Simone with her performances when she would appear in Oakland. His mother exposed him to jazz through frequent visits to musical in San Francisco and Oakland. Ard also proved to be an especially good gymnast, winning the California youth