Irish Step Dance is the traditional folk dance of Ireland. It has been practiced for hundreds of years.

There are two basic types of Step Dance, softshoe and hardshoe. Softshoes, which are similar to ballet shoes, are flexible leather shoes which lace up the top of the foot and around the ankle.  Hardshoes are similar to tap shoes or street shoes and have built-up toes and heels to make the characteristic loud clicks and stomps of the traditional hardshoe dances.