Clogging a definition

The Hoola is the dance you would expect to see if you visited Hawaii.
The Polka is the dance commonly associated with Poland.
These are folk dances which identify the heritage of the native people of those areas.

Clogging is the folk dance that identifies the heritage of the settlers of the Appalachian Mountains.
With influences from our English, Scotch-Irish, German and native American ancestry it involves a vast mix of influence on the dance, with variations from community to community depending on the heritage mix of the settlers of these areas. The dance can be performed as a solo or as a group. Most often clogging was performed while you were doing a Square Dance. Clogging and Square Dance have become so intermixed in the Southern Appalachian Mountains the two now have the same traditional definition.

By definition Clogging is a step dance. It is also a percussive dance. The steps are taken on the down beat of the music giving a rhythmic sound. These movements are combined with ball of the foot (toe) movements which provide the double time sound associated with this dance form.

The modern version of Clogging is a mixture of the above with the addition of the Irish Step Dance movements, Canadian Step movements and other movements of percussive nature. The traditional dance form does not change while the modern version is continually is a state of change. In competition the two are divided into separate classes.

Bill Nichols
The Grandfather of Modern Clogging