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Our History
We are a not-for-profit dance group. Established in 1976 in Shiloh, IL, but supported by members
as far away as 60 miles. Our group includes a few second generation cloggers.
Our dance
style is a cross between country line dance, tap dance, and square dancing. We dance anywhere we are welcome. Every year our presence is requested
at the Shiloh, IL Homecoming, Belleville, IL Oktoberfest,
Four Fountains Nursing Home in Belleville, IL,
Fort Kaskaskia Music Festival and Purina Farms with George Portz. We have also
danced at the Union Station-National Dance Week, the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Worlds Fair in Forest Park, St. Louis, and a Mother/Daughter Dinner at St. Jerome Church in Troy,
IL.
We have traveled
from Tennessee to Kansas
to learn new routines at Clogging Workshops. We dance to all kinds of music
at any location large or small.
Clogging is a
great way to have lots and lots of fun (and get excercise at the same time)! Clogging is fun for the whole family! Become
a member of Cadence Cloggers is so easy, just come to the practices. We will teach you the new routines that we
are currently working on. Later we will teach the older routines to you.
What
is Clogging?
The word “clog” is a Gaelic term meaning “time.” Clogging
is “time” dancing in which the heel is the timekeeper. It is a great form of aerobic exercise. Some of the health
advantages are it helps coordination and rhythm, develops flexibility, lowers blood pressure, increases endurance and strength,
increases lung capacity, relieves stress, and helps weight loss (burns around 400 calories per hour.) With all these benefits,
clogging is definitely one of the best ways to keep in shape and enjoy it at the same time.
In the United
States, clogging takes two major forms: traditional southern Appalachian or precision. There
are many other types of clogging, but these seem to be the most prominent. Appalachian clogging can still be found in western
North Carolina, West Virginia, southwestern Virginia,
and other places in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Cloggers in this style dance mainly
to live music. This music usually consists of bluegrass type music with banjos, fiddles, and guitars. Most of this type of
clogging is freestyle, which means that the dancers have no choreographed footwork. On the other hand, precision (or modern)
clogging was developed around World War II, and is danced to a variety of music. Specifically, the music can range from country
western and bluegrass, to modern pop music, oldies, rock, rap, techno and hip-hop. Precision teams wear elaborate costumes
and shoes with jingle taps. This type of clogging reaches for the goal of everyone clogging the same step at the same time.
*Source Unknown
History
A
true folk dance has no written history. Because of this, clogging is a true American folk dance. Its roots come from the combined
folk dances of the Irish, English, Scottish, and Dutch-Germans who settled in the Appalachian Mountains
in the mid-1700s. Russian gypsies and African Blacks who passed through the area, as well as the Cherokee Indians who originally
inhabited the land, also influenced clogging.
Taking a closer look, the English were probably the first to bring clogging to America. On the other hand, many of the Scottish and Irish who came to America were outcasts and were looking for a way to escape
the English. They settled in the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains and were both hard
working and playing. After a hard day’s work, these outcasts joined their fellow neighbors and rejoiced with food, music,
and dancing. Everyone had their own style from where they were raised, but they watched each other and mimicked what they
liked. This was the very beginning of the clogging steps.
Until the late 1950s, there weren’t any clogging
instructors, classes, or workshops, just some clogging competitions. If you wanted to clog, you watched someone else and tried
to imitate him or her. All this changed when a man named Dennis Abe organized the first clogging workshops. At a workshop,
cloggers gather from near and far to learn new steps, dances, and to socialize. An instant demand for clogging instructors
was then created. A man named Bill Nichols put names to some of the foot movements, so that it could be more easily taught.
Today, workshops are held almost every weekend. Groups and clogging organizations, such as the National Clogging and Hoedown
Council (NCHC), are holding more and more competitions and workshops every year. Cloggers, group directors, and anyone who
loves clogging come together on a regular basis to share their passion at these events. National clogging instructors travel
around the United States to teach their
original clogging routines and steps.
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