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Clogging is a truly American dance form that began in the Appalachian
Mountains and now enjoys widespread popularity throughout the (United
States and around the world.
As the Appalachians were settled in the mid 1700's by the Irish, Scottish,
English and Dutch-Germans, the folk dances of each area met and began to
combine in an impromptu foot-tapping style, the beginning of clog dancing as
we know it today. Accompanied by rousing fiddle and bluegrass music,
clogging was a means of personal expression in a land of newfound freedoms.
The word "Clog" comes from the Gaelic, and means "time". Clogging is a
dance that is done in time with the music -to the downbeat usually with the heel
keeping rhythm.
As clogging made its way to the flatlands, other influences shaped it. From the
Cherokee Indians, to African Blacks and Russian Gypsies, clogging has
enveloped many different traditions to become truly a "melting pot" of step
dances.
For the most part, clogging evolved as an individual form of expression, with a
person using his feet as an instrument to make rhythmic and percussive
sounds to accompany the music. At the turn of the century, many cloggers
began to add this developing step dance to the square dances that had been
enjoyed in their communities for decades. One of clog dancing's most
renowned founders, Bascom Lamar Lunsford of Asheville, North Carolina,
helped to popularise the art of team clogging by adding it as a category of
competition in the annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival held in Asheville
during the late 1920's. A group called the Soco Gap Cloggers won the
competition with a routine featuring precision mountain figures accompanied
by freestyle step dancing. The Soco Gap Dancers became well known for their
energetic style. In a performance for the Queen of England, it is reported that
her majesty remarked at the footwork as very much like "Clogging" in her
country. The term stuck, and the media used the term in documenting the
performance. The step dance emerging from the Southern Mountains
became known as "clog dancing".
In the mid 1930's, another innovator emerged to help propel mountain style
dancing to national prominence. Dr. Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw, a teacher and
Superintendent at the Cheyenne Mountain School in Colorado, and an avid
collector of dances, steps and square dance calls formed an exhibition team
from the dozens of high school students he taught and began to tour the United
States, sharing his knowledge of dance with all who were interested. His 1939
book, "Cowboy Dances", is considered by many to be one of the finest
historical collections of early American dances ever printed. After World War II,
Dr. Shaw began to offer classes at his Cheyenne Mountain School in the
instruction of old time dancing.
As Americans became more mobile, and interstate highways offered the
opportunity for dancers to travel from area to area, the popularity of square
dancing as a national activity increased. During this period, the need for
standardization in square dance calls became increasingly evident, and a
number of callers began to work on standardized names for the movements
and figures that had developed independently of each other in hollows and
communities throughout the country. As square dancing began to evolve as a
structured activity, the emphasis focused on the execution of the figures, and
the step dancing footwork that had accompanied earlier dances was replaced
by a gliding step. Clogging once again was relegated to solo expression, with
only certain areas of Appalachia and the Ozarks continuing to dance the old-
time calls with clogging footwork. During this period, Bill Nichols, of South
Carolina, taught clogging and old-time squares at the Fontana Resort in the
Western Carolina mountains and built a legacy of instruction that has branched
out to include teachers from all parts of the United States. He is considered
by many to be the “Grandfather” of modern clogging.
During the late 1970's, a new means of clogging expression began to gain
popularity -- the line dance. Propelled by the catchy beat of country and pop
tunes, teachers such as Tandy Barrett and JoAnn Gibbs of Georgia, Gloria
Driver of Texas, Lucy Johnson of California and others wrote sequences of
steps to accompany phrases of a popular tune. These strings of steps were
performed to a particular song, with step cues prompting the dancers through
each section. Also during this time, the Green Grass Cloggers were formed in
North Carolina. The group combined old time steps with high kicks to create a
uniquely stylised clogging form that endures today.
Sheila Popwell, of Georgia, is credited as one of the creators of the first
standardized cueing and terminology methods. These generally accepted
forms of notation made it possible for cue sheets to be produced for dance
routines, giving dancers the opportunity to learn new material without having to
travel to workshops or conferences.
Clogging today is less impromptu and more complicated than the simple
rhythmic dance begun by our ancestors. New influences are creeping into the
dance because of popular culture. Tap dancing, Canadian Step Dancing, Irish
Hard Shoe and even street dancing and hip-hop influences are being seen to
bear on the style of steps and dances performed by cloggers today. Performing
teams wearing brightly colored costumes, calico or sequins have sprung up
everywhere, providing entertainment with impressive precision footwork.
Clogging Competitions across the country bring together teams from East and
West to vie for trophies, honours and cash prizes. In 2003, clog dancing was
included as a competitive dance sport in the AAU Junior Olympics.
As with any form of expression, I hope that clogging will continue to put us in
touch with ourselves and our heritage, and render upcoming generations with
the same joy it has provided us. The Double Toe Times magazine is
dedicated to preserving the heritage of this art form and also share its
innovations as it continues to grow.
Mountains and now enjoys widespread popularity throughout the (United
States and around the world.
As the Appalachians were settled in the mid 1700's by the Irish, Scottish,
English and Dutch-Germans, the folk dances of each area met and began to
combine in an impromptu foot-tapping style, the beginning of clog dancing as
we know it today. Accompanied by rousing fiddle and bluegrass music,
clogging was a means of personal expression in a land of newfound freedoms.
The word "Clog" comes from the Gaelic, and means "time". Clogging is a
dance that is done in time with the music -to the downbeat usually with the heel
keeping rhythm.
As clogging made its way to the flatlands, other influences shaped it. From the
Cherokee Indians, to African Blacks and Russian Gypsies, clogging has
enveloped many different traditions to become truly a "melting pot" of step
dances.
For the most part, clogging evolved as an individual form of expression, with a
person using his feet as an instrument to make rhythmic and percussive
sounds to accompany the music. At the turn of the century, many cloggers
began to add this developing step dance to the square dances that had been
enjoyed in their communities for decades. One of clog dancing's most
renowned founders, Bascom Lamar Lunsford of Asheville, North Carolina,
helped to popularise the art of team clogging by adding it as a category of
competition in the annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival held in Asheville
during the late 1920's. A group called the Soco Gap Cloggers won the
competition with a routine featuring precision mountain figures accompanied
by freestyle step dancing. The Soco Gap Dancers became well known for their
energetic style. In a performance for the Queen of England, it is reported that
her majesty remarked at the footwork as very much like "Clogging" in her
country. The term stuck, and the media used the term in documenting the
performance. The step dance emerging from the Southern Mountains
became known as "clog dancing".
In the mid 1930's, another innovator emerged to help propel mountain style
dancing to national prominence. Dr. Lloyd "Pappy" Shaw, a teacher and
Superintendent at the Cheyenne Mountain School in Colorado, and an avid
collector of dances, steps and square dance calls formed an exhibition team
from the dozens of high school students he taught and began to tour the United
States, sharing his knowledge of dance with all who were interested. His 1939
book, "Cowboy Dances", is considered by many to be one of the finest
historical collections of early American dances ever printed. After World War II,
Dr. Shaw began to offer classes at his Cheyenne Mountain School in the
instruction of old time dancing.
As Americans became more mobile, and interstate highways offered the
opportunity for dancers to travel from area to area, the popularity of square
dancing as a national activity increased. During this period, the need for
standardization in square dance calls became increasingly evident, and a
number of callers began to work on standardized names for the movements
and figures that had developed independently of each other in hollows and
communities throughout the country. As square dancing began to evolve as a
structured activity, the emphasis focused on the execution of the figures, and
the step dancing footwork that had accompanied earlier dances was replaced
by a gliding step. Clogging once again was relegated to solo expression, with
only certain areas of Appalachia and the Ozarks continuing to dance the old-
time calls with clogging footwork. During this period, Bill Nichols, of South
Carolina, taught clogging and old-time squares at the Fontana Resort in the
Western Carolina mountains and built a legacy of instruction that has branched
out to include teachers from all parts of the United States. He is considered
by many to be the “Grandfather” of modern clogging.
During the late 1970's, a new means of clogging expression began to gain
popularity -- the line dance. Propelled by the catchy beat of country and pop
tunes, teachers such as Tandy Barrett and JoAnn Gibbs of Georgia, Gloria
Driver of Texas, Lucy Johnson of California and others wrote sequences of
steps to accompany phrases of a popular tune. These strings of steps were
performed to a particular song, with step cues prompting the dancers through
each section. Also during this time, the Green Grass Cloggers were formed in
North Carolina. The group combined old time steps with high kicks to create a
uniquely stylised clogging form that endures today.
Sheila Popwell, of Georgia, is credited as one of the creators of the first
standardized cueing and terminology methods. These generally accepted
forms of notation made it possible for cue sheets to be produced for dance
routines, giving dancers the opportunity to learn new material without having to
travel to workshops or conferences.
Clogging today is less impromptu and more complicated than the simple
rhythmic dance begun by our ancestors. New influences are creeping into the
dance because of popular culture. Tap dancing, Canadian Step Dancing, Irish
Hard Shoe and even street dancing and hip-hop influences are being seen to
bear on the style of steps and dances performed by cloggers today. Performing
teams wearing brightly colored costumes, calico or sequins have sprung up
everywhere, providing entertainment with impressive precision footwork.
Clogging Competitions across the country bring together teams from East and
West to vie for trophies, honours and cash prizes. In 2003, clog dancing was
included as a competitive dance sport in the AAU Junior Olympics.
As with any form of expression, I hope that clogging will continue to put us in
touch with ourselves and our heritage, and render upcoming generations with
the same joy it has provided us. The Double Toe Times magazine is
dedicated to preserving the heritage of this art form and also share its
innovations as it continues to grow.
| A Brief History of Clog Dancing By Jeff Driggs, Editor of the Double Toe Times Clogging Magazine |
History of
Clogging
Clogging
