Traditional Dance - Appalachian Clogging (Stepping)

A how-to-do-it tutorial by Rosie Davis

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Handy Hints 2

•      Learn to play the spoons, or find someone who can play the spoons and duet.

•      Hot dog line - all make one long line, dance forward then backwards leave one dancer to strut their stuff, dance the line forward and back again to pick them up and drop someone else off.

•      Trade steps with another dancer, keep doing basics whilst the other dances a fancy step, pick it up by watching. This works great as a performance piece.

•      Clog a line dance - this is big in some parts of the States.

•      Clog at a barn dance.

•      Try doing something else whilst clogging - I made a balloon dog once whilst freestyling to "Granny does your Dog Bite".

•      Dance "Duelling Banjos" - banjo and feet, or duelling with another dogger.

•      Traditional dance is an art form - don't forget the ART bit.

Floors

Wood floors are great to dance on but beware of the concrete floor covered with wooden tiles - dancing on a concrete floor for any length of time can really hurt knees and ankles.

It is possible to buy pieces of synthetic dance floor that will roll up and flatten out again given half an hour or so, modular dance floors that strap together and slatted tap mats.

I usually use an inch thick piece of chipboard with a carrying handle but have danced on Formica doors, pub menu boards, marble tables and the spare wheel cover of my Vauxhall Chevette. A hollow platform gives a good sound and is easier on the legs than a solid board.

If you are to dance on a stage check the area for sound, some stages have hollow sounding parts and solid sounding parts, the solid parts give a more reliable sound on the whole.

Protect the floor if necessary by putting masking tape over taps and checking that they are secure and do not have any loose screws that can cut up the floor.

 

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