Common Questions

What is clogging?

Clogging is a dance form that has influence from just about every culture. Clog dancing is basically foot notes made with your toe and heel. We make the down beat with our heel (German influence) and use our toe for the up beat (English influence). The syncopation of some foot work is attributed to the African & Native Americans.

Do you wear clogs to dance?

You can wear clogs, but it is harder to dance well. Can you imagine that some dancers did wear the Dutch wooden clogs at one time and danced in them? They did. It is thought that during the Industrial Revolution in Northern England, men working in textile and steel mills wore clogs as "overshoes" to protect their feet from the wet floors. To pass the time working, they tapped out rhythms on the cobblestone floor to the percussion of the machines and made their own foot "music".

Is clogging like tap?

Yes, they are related, possibly cousins. Some feel that clogging happened in the foot hills and Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina to Georgia and moved to the big cities of Detroit, Boston, and New York as tap.

Are clogging and Riverdance the same?

They are related and share the grandparent of Irish decent. Clogging though is truly an American traditional dance taking many influences, not just the Irish. Clogging is still growing and changing today with Canadian hops, gymnastic type jumps and music that comes from hip hop, rock, pop and of course bluegrass and country.

Isn’t clogging just like line dancing or square dancing?

Clogging can be done in lines like line dancing, but it can be done in formations like square dancing, with a partner and in a precision like style (all dancers dancing the same steps at the same time), or clogging can be done as freestyle (dancing as an individual). Many clogging groups dance a combination of lines, formations, and partners to keep an audience entertained.

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