Clogging feels awesome! I am bouncy and energetic and full of confidence as I make lots of noise with my taps! THEN, someone displays photos or video of my performance and ruins it all...

Okay, it doesn't really ruin things; it helps you perform better in the future. It's just SO awkward and painful in the moment. 

My team sat down the other day to watch video footage of our dances from a recent competition. It is helpful to see what's going on - this formation could be tighter, we need to get that turn together, those costumes look cuter than I thought, Sheila Jo needs to stop flailing her arms about like a caffeinated octopus during the traditional line routine - you know, the usual...

When you watch yourself, you notice EVERY mistake, every flaw, every little thing that could be better. Some of you may have to search carefully to find areas for improvement. Me, I don't even need to be wearing contacts! (And I pretty much can't see a house without corrective lenses, y'all.)

"Twitchy" is an accurate description of my particular style of high energy clogging. There's no grace involved. At this point, graceful is not likely to happen...

With hard work, I CAN hold my place better in the formation, get that turn in sync with my teammates, and maybe control my arms a bit. Watching recordings of performances will help me continue to improve as a clogger. Knowledge is power, folks!

I may look twitchy in every clogging video, but I also look happy. That somehow makes the next critique session less scary.

Don't be afraid, cloggers! If you never watch videos of your own clogging, I challenge you to watch one this week. Find two things you can improve and two things you are doing well.

How do YOU feel about watching videos of your performance?