Footloose: clog dancers hoe down in the 90s - includes related information

American Fitness, May-June, 1994 by Bobbi Moreno

Take a lively bluegrass tune, mix in some foot stomping and a lttle hand clapping, and you have an energetic form of dance known as clogging.

If you've ever seen clogging performed at a bluegrass festival or county fair, you probably haven't forgotten it--or the feeling it evoked. You may have wanted to jump up and give it a try, or at the very least, let out a few good "whoops" as you tapped your feet to the lively tunes. A morale-booster, people are getting hooked on the dance and its benefits--increased endurance and strength, and a toned body.

There are almost as many reasons why people love to clog dance as there are step variations. "Clogging uses all the muscles of the body, resulting in increased muscular strength and endurance," says Walt Spellmeyer, instructor and founder of Mountain Valley Cloggers and The Original Clogging Company exhibition team in Simi Valley, California. Any activity in which the large are worked in a smooth, continuous manner is effective for toning and firming. "Cloggers aslo develop flexibility, reducing the chance of injury from strenuous activities," says Spellmeyer.

A great intake of oxygen and high-calorie expenditure make clogging a super way to burn fat. In Spellmeyer's class cloggers learn controlled breathing, enabling them to rid the lungs of carbon dioxide efficiently and increase fat burning. A two-and-half-hour clog dance is the calorie equivalent to a six-mile brisk walk.

Scott singer, instructor and artistic director of The Country Knights exhibition team in Reseda, California, extols the virtues of clogging as "a phenomenal excercise which is both aerobic and anaerobic." He says it burns around 400 calories per hour. "Besides building strength, endurance and lung capacity, clogging is terrific for coordination and gracefulness," adds Singer.

"I get a natural high from clogging," says psychologist Linda Carter-Wright. "It must be a great producer of endorphins."

Ellen Martin, a medical assistant and member of the Country Knights exhibition team, agrees. "It improves my concentration and is a good stress reliever," she says. "If you've had a hard day at work, you can go to class and tap it out." An asthma sufferer, Martin feels clogging has aided her breathing by expanding her lungs.

Other benefits attributed to clogging are lowered blood pressure and relief from arthritis pain. Meredith Lyon, a UCLA librarian and member of The Country Knights, noticed a drop in her blood pressure within months of taking up clogging. With increased muscle strength in her legs, she also reports relief from the arthritis she suffers in both knees. However, Lyon cautions against dancing on a concrete floor (Which is jarring to the entire body) and suggests finding a class that uses wooden floors.

Exercise devotees have named clogging as a favorite physical activity simply because of the fun factor. Others are attracted to the challenge of mastering intiricate new steps.

Clogging is traditionally performed to hoe-down music, but is now performed to rap and other popular music as well. The influence of current music on young dancers and choreographers is evident in their lightnin-fast steps and corresponding arm movements. The speed with which clog dancers compete is breathtaking, hitting an average of 170 bpms. "Clogging is similar to tap dancing, country western, hip hop and jazz, taking the best of all these and rolling it into one unique dance form," says Singer.

The combined elements of clogging were developed more than 200 years ago in the Appalachian Mountains by Irish, Scotch and English immigrants who were most likely influenced by Cherokee Indian ceremonial dances and traveling minstrel show performers. Clog dancing in its eraliest form was done on wooden porches with wooden shoes to create a stomping rhythm. In the 1930's dancers wore horseshoe style taps on their heels. By the 1950s, special heel and toe taps were worn, giving the dance its distinctive sound. Costumes also became popular as clogging became more stage oriented. Today, cloggers wear white leather lace-up flats with a slight heel and loose jingle taps attached to the heels and toes.

"Buck" or "buck and wing" dancing is a challenging form of clogging also born from many cultures. Performed solo, usually to mountain fiddle music, buck dancing features features close-to-the-ground lateral foot movement on the balls of the feet. Extra steps are added within each step, creating foot movement and beats per step. The torso is held fairly stationary. In fact, old-time buck dancers tried to balance water-filled teacups on their heads.

Clogging is not just a solo sport. A special style of clog team dancing originated in western North Carolina, where Sam queen formed the Soco Gap Dancers in the 1920s. The Soco Gap Dancers, with the Coon Greek Girls from Pinchem Tight, Kentucky, performed at the White House for President Roosevelt and the Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth reportedly tapped her foot eagerly during the exhibition and remarked, "Why, that's just like our clogging."