Where was I last Saturday night? At home, as ordered by the State of Ohio. What was I doing? Dancing with more than 1300 clogging friends at the first Worldwide Clogging Fun Dance!
For a day, I clogged with Kings!
Still recovering from Smoky Mountain Encore, I made a much shorter drive to Columbus, Ohio for a rare opportunity hosted by the Yellow Rose Cloggers.
One Day Only: Clog with Josh provided a rare opportunity to learn from Josh King, an acclaimed clogging instructor who originally hails from Texas but will soon be returning with his family to Melbourne, Australia.
Even if you don’t know his name, you probably know some of his choreography. Does “All Shook Up” ring a bell?
Betty's Bein' Bad! National dance list/fun dance challenge continues with some confusion.
The national dance list/fun dance challenge continues at Fancy Free Studios. Evie requested “Betty’s Bein’ Bad” as our next routine to tackle because she danced it years ago and loved it.
I never learned this dance previously but set to work preparing it for Tuesday night clogging class. My cue sheet states the routine was choreographed “before 1986.” The song was released in 1985 by Sawyer Brown, so this all checks out. Do yourself a favor and watch Sawyer’s video for this tune, if only to relive the colorful joy of 1980s clothing.
SAA-LUTE! Smoky Mountain Encore 2018
Oinky gets a taste of showbiz!
Unbeknownst to the audience, the props we use on stage sometimes have a life all their own! As Fancy Free Cloggers made final adjustments to our routine for the Hee Haw show at Smoky Mountain Encore, the stuffed toy pig carried by one of my teammates was deemed too small to be visually effective. Our team seamstress has a pattern and can make one for future shows (we plan on using this dance throughout the year), but she didn't have time to create a custom pig before the trip to Tennessee...
Get out and clog! Cabin Fever Workshop 2018
Cooped up cloggers in Ohio are ready to dance! Approximately 162 of us came out for the Cabin Fever workshop at Baku Grotto Hall in Mansfield. There was even a clogger from Canada in attendance! Fancy Free Cloggers brought three dancers to this event, one sporting a "spectator" armband due to a recent knee injury.
Get out and clog! Cabin Fever Workshop 2018: THE PREQUEL
Nothing cures winter doldrums like a clogging workshop! It was my privilege to join approximately 161 delightful folks in Mansfield, Ohio last weekend to dance it out at Cabin Fever, hosted by the Buckeye Country Cloggers.
Every trip has its challenges. Same as last year, I drove the 140ish miles to Mansfield the night before Cabin Fever. The difficulty came in trying to eat dinner Friday.
To cut, or not to cut a long song?
The national dance list/fun dance challenge has left me with a dilemma: do I cut long, repetitive songs to better fit into performances, or leave them as they are so my teammates and I can nail the routines at fun dances?
Pretty Little Angel Eyes - national dance list/fun dance challenge update
"Pretty Little Angel Eyes" is officially in the repertoire for Fancy Free Cloggers! When's the next fun dance?
FFC enjoyed learning this bouncy routine as part of the national dance list/fun dance challenge. Many teammates already knew and loved the routine but hadn't performed it in years. The rest fell in love as soon as I played the music!
Bring back your beginner fire!
Even the most enthusiastic veteran clogger benefits from a visit to beginner dance class! Remember when you first started, and double toes were AMAZING?! How you practiced EVERYWHERE, driving friends and family bonkers? If those days and feelings seem far removed from your current outlook, hang out with a group of new dancers and remember the joy!
Return to Hoedown Island, with a surprise...
Time to Disco: Smoky Mountain Encore!
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!
Smoky Mountain Encore Clogging Workshop: disco and clogging and bears, oh my!
If the combination of disco costumes, clogging, and the Smoky Mountains is wrong, I don't wanna be right! I'm totally cool with leaving out the bear, though!
Most of my team made the drive from Ohio to Tennessee on Thursday. 'Twas a fantastic day for a drive! (Yep, JT brought sexy back; I'm bringing the word 'twas back.)
Driving to Gatlinburg was actually my first excursion out of the house since surgery last week! My teen passenger was willing to take the wheel for a while if I needed a rest, but that wasn't necessary.
Cabin Fever Clogging Workshop 2017!
Happy days (and clogging workshops) are here again! Once the flurry of activities to begin a new year settles down, clogging workshops are a welcome excuse to get out and dance!
My first workshop for 2017 was Cabin Fever, hosted by the Buckeye Country Cloggers! This workshop relocated a short distance to Mansfield, OH for a bit more space after packing the school gym in Bellville, OH last year. Not sure where it will be next year after filling this new venue, too!