Smoky Mountain Encore Clogging Workshop is worth the drive from Ohio to Tennessee! Or the flight from Florida, or the drive/flight from Canada! 

Not only do you get the chance to enjoy Gatlinburg, you have up to ten classes to choose from at any given time during the workshop! 

Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle taught an intermediate-level routine to Carrie Underwood's "Dirty Laundry."  If you did not take this class, pull out your syllabus NOW and read part C of Naomi's cue sheet! When the choreographer actually writes "Yes, I'm serious" in the movement description, things are about to get interesting!

This photo is from the "Dirty Laundry" class, but this is NOT the washing machine move. Some things just need to be experienced in person...

While Encore is primarily a clogging workshop, some class offerings reflect other interests/skills of the instructors. 

Evie Poe, my team director, taught four yoga classes over Encore weekend. The organizers wisely scheduled her classes first thing in the morning and at the end of each day. Each one filled quickly with cloggers looking to stretch sore muscles or find a few moments of mental calm.

Evie's Friday afternoon yoga class looks WAY more refreshed and relaxed than I look after a workshop day!

The Saturday morning class had fun with boat pose!

Other classes not specific to clogging included zumba, country heat dance workout, Canadian step dancing, lifts, and a few hip hop classes.

I underwent a minor surgery the week before this workshop and was on spectator status instead of clogger status. It was a different experience! However, I did learn a thing or two from attending seminars.

Chip & Misty Harrison taught a class on How to make your traditional line pop. It answered a few questions my team had about which steps fall outside of being considered traditional. The instructors also gave tips on getting your team's arm movements to look controlled without being choreographed.

Kaylee & Lauren Thomas shared Tips for a duo. They fielded questions from the class and taught a few partner turns.

Misty Harrison also ran a seminar on Costuming. It can be tricky to clothe a team of different ages/body types/personal tastes!

I was looking forward to attending Jamie Vincent's session on Kid games to incorporate into your classes. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the schedule, and Jamie was also booked to teach a dance routine in the same time slot. Maybe she'll teach the games class at a future workshop!

After a day of dancing, cloggers need food! (Especially when we need to get dolled up for the fun dance a few hours later!) I LOVE me some Mellow Mushroom pizza! With none near my home, it's a rare treat!

An added bonus this year was our waiter, who carded EVERY adult at the table who ordered a "beverage."

No cocktail for Evie until she proves she is at least twenty-one!

Fun dance costumes did not disappoint! Hollie, Jenette, and Joel showed up in homemade disco attire that looked great! Basically, the opposite of my disco ball costume epic fail.

Laura found her disco twin at the fun dance!

Evie and Loretta were disco divas!

Didn't catch his name, but the adorable little boy John Travolta in the first photo won the costume contest!

On Saturday, it snowed! Not a big deal when you come from Ohio, but I happened to walk outside when some of the South Florida Cloggers saw snow for the first time! That was cool to watch!

After even more dance classes Saturday, everybody looked something like this:

I don't have any pics, but we squeezed in an early birthday party for Evie, thanks to clogging mom Connie! She made an angel food cake at home and drove it to Gatlinburg with all the supplies needed to decorate and top it with strawberries - YUM!

But wait, there's more! A disco-themed show Saturday night and another fun dance!

Fancy Free clogged "The Hustle!" Lookin' good backstage!

Lookin' good on the stage!

The disco clogging numbers were a hoot to watch, especially the Hotfoot Cloggers. Cullin Finley (grown-up John Travolta in the first pic) strutted in impossibly high shoes while his teammates clogged "Stayin' Alive!" Hotfoot then encountered a streaker on the stage. Don't worry, it was part of the act!

Guess who else performed on the Encore stage?! Current The Voice contestant Chris Blue!

Chris nailed his rendition of "Purple Rain" for the crowd in the Gatlinburg Convention Center! At the time, he couldn't tell us how fared in blind auditions for The Voice. We now know that Chris made it to Team Alicia, and he is kicking butt! CONGRATS, CHRIS BLUE!

One of the wonderful things about these workshops is the ability to actually see in person the folks you know on social media only, or you maybe you know a few of their teammates, so they look familiar from clogging pictures, or maybe you meet someone new altogether!

My teammate Dustin caught up with clogger Jayne Treadwell at the show, and I ended up meeting her briefly at TGIF after the show! I look forward to dancing with you at a future workshop, Jayne!

Encore is a big workshop! There are so many online clogging friends I didn't end up meeting in person this time. I'm conducting a better search for y'all next time!

I was quite pleased to NOT meet the BEAR roaming the convention center steps after the cloggers left Saturday night!

THANK YOU to Lynne Ogle and the rest of the Smoky Mountain Encore staff for another fun workshop!  

Couldn't get in anyway due to incisions, but my streak of hotels with broken hot tubs continues!

Mark your calendars, cloggers! Next year's Smoky Mountain Encore is set for March 8-10, 2018! 

What theme are YOU hoping for at next year's Smoky Mountain Encore?