“Clogging” is a word associated with several ideas: wooden shoes, Irish dancing and toilets are ones that I hear a lot. For me, it is a part of life, as well as an escape into another world.
I have clogged with The Steven’s County Stompers since I was about 8 years old. Currently, I am clogging with the Dance Tyme Studio cloggers, located in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Performing and dancing have been part of my life since I was very young. I learned early on that dance was not only fun, but was (and still is today) a huge part of who I am.
Clogging is a mixture of step-dances. I like to refer to it as the “melting pot dance” or the “American dance.” This dance can be done individually or with a group of people. A couple of things differentiate clogging from traditional tap: there are two taps on the ball of the shoe as well as on the heel (some shoes also have a flexible sole and even a tap on the toe of the shoe), cloggers get their legs and bodies up in the air much more, and clogging can be done to nearly any style of music. Both clogging and Irish dancing are very rhythmic, but clogging is much more relaxed. Cloggers do not have to always have their arms and hands by their side.
As Irish, Scottish, English and Dutch-German immigrants settled in the Appalachian Mountains in the mid 1700s, folk and step dances began to meet and combine with one another. This is how clogging began.
As clogging moved its way to the flatlands, it began to be shaped and influenced more. The traditions of the Cherokee Indians, African-Americans and Russian Gypsies impacted this “melting pot dance” even more. Traditional clogging was also referred to as jigging, buck dancing, flat-footing and back-stepping. Over time, traditional line dances began to emerge as well as a form of square dancing mixed with clogging. Today, clogging has evolved into a much more complicated and detailed dance. In modern competitions, groups combine clogging with hip-hop, jazz and formation work.
Performing, as I said earlier, has been part of my life since I was very young. As a shy person, it has helped mold and push me. Today, I feel more comfortable and happy on a stage in front of a large audience than I typically do in normal, everyday circumstances and events. In October 2015, I had the amazing opportunity to perform at the Carolina Opry with a professional clogging group called All-That. While performing my solo on the Carolina Opry stage, I felt no fear — just peace and pure joy. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Clogging has opened my eyes to other places in the U.S. and has allowed me to meet many incredible people. For the past two years, I have won the NCHC National Choreographed Clogging Solo title. It had been a dream and goal of mine to be a national clogging champion, but it never seemed possible. Being from Colville, Washington (a small town in the Northeast corner of the state), as well as the only person in my clogging group that had the desire to compete, made it a huge challenge. Clogging has provided me with a family of dancers all over the country as well as in other parts of the world. Through lots of hard work, fundraising, prayer, support from family and friends and the Colville community, and a dream — I was able to achieve my goal. It warmed my heart to know that I was putting Colville, Washington, on the clogging map.
