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
Paul Harris (choreographer) He is also an author of dance books, having written "Salsa and Merengue – The Essential Step by Step Guide" and several dance syllabi for British awarding bodies in dance. Harris is an acknowledged authority and leading choreographer in historical dance, period dance, tango, salsa, swing dance, ballroom dancing, Latin American dancing and theatre dance. He is the winner of the 2008 Carl Alan Award for choreography. Born in St Helens, Harris began dancing at the age of eight and as a dancer, was a successful Juvenile and Junior competitor in ballroom dancing. He won the British Open Championships at