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.
Myrtle Beach, SC. Friday, July 15, 2016. Section B, Row 4, Seat 13. My vacation became way more awesome with a ticket to see All That! at the Carolina Opry!
I saw All That! perform in their "home" theater once before - the last time Dieter held his Beach Jam competition - but the audience was full of cloggers. What would it be like on a "normal" summer night?
This is probably the toughest entry Clogger's Dictionary has tackled to date: clogging director. Common synonyms include clogging teacher, clogging instructor, clogging coach, etc. All of these terms are woefully inadequate as a job description, but they do at least fit on the back of a tee shirt...
For most of us, the typical clogging performance includes bringing music of our own. Predictable music. Exactly as practiced. Always sounds the same (with the exception of music technology glitches).
Sometimes, cloggers get to perform with live music instead! This brings a special level of fun and challenge!
Not every suggestion for a clogging routine is a great one. Sometimes, an idea that shows promise is just not right, due to a lack of time or other resources. Other times, only one team member has a vision for a particular plan, so it quietly dies.
The next time that happens, hear the clogger out! Otherwise, you could miss an amazing adventure.
It's August! What's going on in the life and times of cloggers right now?
(Share your update in the comments - let's have fun with this!)
"Bad" - choreography by teammate Dustin.
"Work" - choreography by teammate Sabrena.
"Bad Moon Rising" - choreography by Steve Smith (routine from the CLOG National Dance List.) Working on my national dance list/fun dance challenge!
Calls for our new competition hoedown!
Folks who participate in other sports have no problem randomly finding items related to their hobbies. Soccer, basketball, football - there is STUFF everywhere! Clogging? Not so much!
My mother-in-law and nephew are visiting from Florida this week, and one of our activities was a trip to Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati, OH. I decided to go on a search for clogging-related merchandise!
Those healthy enough and lucky enough to compete as cloggers into adulthood know that the game changes with time. (Not necessarily a bad thing.) Here are 10 signs that may indicate you are THERE:
10. All costumes must be planned around your most supportive bra - no exceptions!
9. On competition day, the timing of your Aleve/Tylenol dosage is considered crucial strategy.
Bonus of clogging at a local event over a holiday weekend: Former team members are likely to be home visiting and you get to catch up! With a (very) little coaxing, you can even get them on the dance floor! Yep, a person can trade clogging for other hobbies or life pursuits, but those double toes are still there...
My team attended Shindig In The Valley clogging competition last weekend. In addition to some awards and great memories, I walked away with a few observations:
I am the person on my team who packs EVERYTHING in her clogging bag. Need duct tape, shoe polish, band-aids, a granola bar? Sure, it's in there! However, once each team cycled through a costume change, it was unnecessary to dig in the bag. The carpet was covered in discarded bobby pins and safety pins!
It happened to me at a recent performance: broken tap! In this case, a teammate who serves as our shoe repair person replaced it before I went home. Look at that shiny, unscratched toe tap! (Thanks, Bob!)
Bob took it upon himself to learn the task years ago when his son broke a tap shortly before going onstage to compete. There was no shoe vendor at this particular competition.
Today's clogging vocabulary lesson involves a type of performance almost every team does: the nursing home show.
Get ready to move tables and clear some space in the facility dining room!
Here's my formal definition:
Nursing home show (noun): A clogging performance where the dancers bring entertainment to an audience who may not be able to get out to attend other events. Synonyms include retirement home show, rest home show, etc.
Face it: there is a limit to how many clogging steps/routines a person can absorb at once.
I find this fact to be particularly annoying during workshops. "Afternoon fog" is a term bandied about to describe the phenomenon. Basically, your mental fatigue and physical fatigue combine to make a step sequence or entire routine WAY more difficult than it would normally be.
Dirt and scuffs and stains, oh my! Between dance classes and shows, those clogging shoes quickly lose their shine and become less than show-worthy (Not sure that's really a word, but you know what it means.).
Lately, my shoe polish hasn't been cutting it, and I've started a search to find the best products to keep my clogging shoes looking good.
