clogging

Dancing alone? Yes, but I'm clogging with the world!

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!

Come on, come on to Cabin Fever Clogging Workshop! Let's dance.

Cabin Fever Clogging Workshop in Mansfield, Ohio is a gentle wake-up from winter hibernation. This friendly, one-room workshop, hosted by Buckeye Country Cloggers, gave approximately 130 dancers a first look at routines that will later appear at larger workshops.

Come on, come on to Cabin Fever Clogging Workshop! Getting there is half the fun.

The time arrived to pack up the Mighty Cruze and head north to Mansfield, Ohio for the first clogging workshop of the year!

I arrived Friday afternoon in time to experience one of Mansfield’s major attractions:

Richland Carrousel Park opened in 1991, and was recently closed briefly for maintenance work. It looked all shiny and new!

And the real prize is time together: FFC Awards Banquet

As we continue “chugging” into a new year of clogging, Fancy Free took time to honor the accomplishments and special moments of 2019 with our annual awards banquet.

This event was once tied to the Christmas party, but has morphed into a celebration to look forward to after the holidays are done. Plus, it gives us an excuse to eat twice!

We gathered together in late January (minus a few out sick, because ‘tis the season) to carry on the tradition.

Action! Back to the studio, cloggers.

Holiday break is over! Cloggers everywhere return to the studio this week, and Fancy Free is no exception. Our recreational class resumed Tuesday evening with much catching up and joy and a little bit of height comparison - I swear some of the kids grew an inch after our Christmas party!

Fa-BOO-lous weekend at FFC Clog Camp 2019! DAY ONE

Clog Camp 2019 at Fancy Free Studio has it all: Halloween theme, dance studio sleepover, toilet paper toss, team spirit, dance-off, and so much more.

This annual event is not what you might expect. We don’t spend the whole weekend dancing, and non-cloggers are heartily welcomed. It’s more of a team-building and bonding weekend, although previous years have included campers from Chillicothe Dance and the Riverside Cloggers.

Clogging calamity: Where's the speaker, Evie?

Clogging shoes. Check! Team tee shirt. Check! Water bottle. Check! Speaker. Uh, oh.

Things got hectic at Fancy Free Cloggers’ nursing home performance on Memorial Day, but our IT crew “made it work” well enough to make Tim Gunn proud.

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?

It's a CLOG world after all: Smoky Mountain Encore 2019

Smoky Mountain Encore workshop in Gatlinburg, TN is a favorite for Fancy Free Cloggers. Many non-dancing family members tag along to enjoy a mini vacation while we clog our feet off. Our young dancers were particularly excited about this year’s Disney theme and the chance to dress up as princesses in the show.

New wallpaper and...a clogging stage? Homescapes game holds a fun surprise.

Regarding phone games, I haven’t progressed beyond Words with Friends. Shout out to high school classmate Aaron, my toughest opponent! However, a screenshot from Fancy Free Clogger Dustin expanded my gaming repertoire at least temporarily to include Homescapes.

Why? The game contains a surprise clogging reference!

Riverside Cloggers celebrate a decade of dance!

Ten years of clogging calls for a party! (And cake!) Riverside Cloggers of Point Pleasant, WV spent St. Patrick's Day celebrating their first decade as a team. The official anniversary was March 10, but most of the dancers were in Gatlinburg for Smoky Mountain Encore that weekend.

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.

Here's what this clogger is currently...(February edition)

Welcome to February! What are all the cloggers up to? I'll start!

Here's what THIS clogger is currently...

Reading

Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance of the Appalachian, Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain Regions by Mike Seeger, with style profiles and footlatures by Ruth Pershing. There is a documentary by the same name which I do not currently own, but I have found clips online. More to come about this book in a future blog post.

Dance studio games: treasure hunt

Need a party game for an event at the clogging studio? Try a treasure hunt! I had so much fun creating an outdoor treasure hunt for Clog Camp at Fancy Free Studio last weekend, I decided to write clues for an indoor dance studio treasure hunt. We have unique decor at FFC Studio (Bean Chicken, I'm lookin' at you!), but these clues focus on items visible at dance classes everywhere. Customize as needed to fit your location.