The Irish dance most people are asking about is usually Irish stepdance , the style made famous worldwide by shows like Riverdance.

Main names you might mean

  • Irish stepdance – Precise, fast footwork with a straight upper body; can be solo or in lines and groups.
  • Céilí dancing – Social group dances done at a céilí (a music-and-dance gathering), often in circles, lines, or sets.
  • Set dancing – Figures danced in square “sets” of couples, to reels, jigs, polkas, and hornpipes.
  • Sean-nós dancing – Very old, more relaxed “old-style” solo dance with low-to-the-ground, percussive footwork and freer upper body.

If you saw straight-backed dancers, lots of rhythm in the feet, and often show-style costumes, the dance is almost certainly Irish stepdance.

TL;DR: When people ask “what is the Irish dance called?”, they’re usually thinking of Irish stepdance , but traditional Irish dancing also includes céilí, set dancing, and sean-nós styles.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.