There are certain things that you never tell an irish dancer. 1) that they clog and 2) that they river dance. Every time I tell someone that I irish dance, they say “oh so you clog”. No, I don’t “clog” I “irish dance”. Clogging and irish dance are commonly confused and it gets annoying. The fundamentals of the two types of dance are completely opposite of each other. Clogging is a form of tap dance that is louder and not as sophisticated. (thats the first insult, loud and unsophisticated?)

In clogging, you wear a shoes that is fake leather and it has a small heel with metal pieces on the bottoms. These shoes are not very sturdy and do not allow for that much technical footwork. Irish dance hard shoes are leather and have fiberglass tips on the bottom. They also have a flat surface at the top to make fancy footwork easier and safer.

The other main difference iin the two styles of dance it where you place your arms while dancing. Irish dancers have to keep their arms completely by their sides. The goal for an irish dance is for it to look like you took a pole and replaced it with their spinal cord. No part of your body should move from the waist up. In tap dance or clogging you can move your arms all around, and you are encouraged to move your arms as it helps you get off the floor to make the sounds. Tap dancers need a push to get off of the ground to make the sounds but irish dancers have to rely completely on our legs to do all of the work for us. Riverdance is an amazing show that is famous for bringing the style of irish dance to America. Michael Flatley created this show and toured it all of the world for years. The thing that is not understood it that this is only a show. I do not river dance because that is not a thing. I could possibly perform in Riverdance, but I am not a river dancer. Its about time that people understand the true talent and hard work that it takes for irish dancers to do what we do. Don’t try to compare it to any other American sport. Irish dance is it’s own truly amazing art form that requires hard work and ridiculous strength. (ok I’m a little bias, but its true.)

Michael Flatley