Soft Shoe:
1. Ceili Dances: Both boys and girls participate in Ceili dances, which involve group dances with four or eight individuals. Ceili dances feature steps such as the "hops", "steps", "turns" and "balance".
2. Solo Sean-nós Dancing: Both boys and girls perform traditional Sean-nós dancing routines, which focus on improvised steps and body movements related to regional dances.
3. Freestyle Choreography: In some competitions, both boys and girls can showcase choreographed Irish dance routines, incorporating various movements, jumps and complex body movements.
Hard Shoe:
1. Hard Shoe Sean-nós Dancing: These dances involve rapid and intricate footwork with percussive tapping sounds on the floor. Both boys and girls can showcase their individual hard shoe techniques.
2. Solo Treble or Multiple Time Step: Boys and girls have separate events for treble jig or hard shoe routines, where they showcase intricate footwork and rhythm while tapping their heels, toes and balls of the feet.
Costume Differences:
- Girls: For soft shoe dances, girls wear traditional Irish dresses, skirts, or other feminine attire. During hard shoe dances, girls wear costumes that typically include decorative blouses and skirts along with hard shoes with taps attached.
- Boys: Boys wear kilts, vests and dress shirts for soft shoe dances. For hard shoe routines, they also wear hard shoes with taps.
Additionally, there are some specialized dances reserved only for boys or girls. For example, in ladies' solo dances, female performers feature "Slip Jigs" and "Reels", while men feature "Jigs", "Slip Jigs" and "Hornpipes" (solo dances performed only by males).
Overall, while boys and girls share some common dance routines, they also have specific dances, steps, and routines designated for each gender in traditional Irish dance competitions.