History of Clogging . . .

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 new found 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.

For the most part, clogging evolved as an individual form of expression, with a person using his or her feet as an instrument to make rhythmic and percussive sounds to accompany the music.

In the mid 1930's, an 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.

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 choreographed steps to accompany phrases of a popular tune.

During the 1980's clogging experienced a tremendous period of growth, Workshops and conventions sprang up across the country, and dozens of new teachers produced hundreds of new line dances and steps for the ever-growing audience of clog dancers.

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, 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, honors and cash prizes.

In 2003, clog dancing was included as a competitive dance sport in the AAU Junior Olympics.

Q's & A's

Q: “Isn’t clogging just like tap dancing?”

A: No. Not only do tap and clogging hit on different beats of music and utilize different techniques, but the shoes are also different. Clogging shoes generally have taps that are double taps or "jingle taps". This makes it so there are four taps on each shoe – two on the toe, and two on the heel. One is securely fastened to the shoe, while the other is more loosely fastened and hits both the floor and the fastened tap while dancing or simply walking about.