Even the savviest holiday shopper may find it difficult to check clogging relatives off the shopping list. It's not like you can camp outside the local clogging superstore on Black Friday and fill a cart with bargains. (We can dream about it, though!) Here's a list of ideas to get you started:
Christmas card for cloggers - print & color!
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!
It doesn't have to be complicated.
Fancy Free Cloggers celebrated Halloween, which conveniently fell on our usual class night, with a simple party. Nothing crazy. Evie cooked up a pot of chili, everybody contributed a snack (My cheese ball was such hard work, ha-ha!), and we showed up in costumes, ready to dance and eat! Evie's Halloween decorations have been in the studio all month, so all she needed to do was set up a few tables.
My first four weeks with Tapped Out, the world's clogging team.
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.
Clog. Search for monsters. Typical weekend, right?
Dance book review: Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy
I thought I found just a cute series of children's books about dancing fairies. Nope! I also found an explanation for my mistakes in dance class! There are over 200 books in the Rainbow Magic collection, which has been going strong since 2003. A new title came out in September of 2017, and a little online research revealed another series release scheduled for May, 2018.
Clogging love across the miles!
Walking 500 miles at NCHC Nationals...
The hotel was decorated for Alice In Wonderland, but "500 Miles" felt like the real theme at NCHC Nationals over Labor Day weekend. Dancers and spectators alike met their step goals for the day!
Why? The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center is ENORMOUS! Don't bother being in a hurry to get anywhere. Just enjoy the experience; there is plenty to see while you figure out where stuff is.
The best-laid plans of cloggers...
Things were going so smoothly at FFC Studio! Recent rehearsals significantly improved our competition routines in preparation for NCHC Nationals in Nashville this weekend.
For once, Fancy Free Cloggers started the final practice without a list of last-minute changes in response to an injury or other emergency. We even finished competition stuff EARLY and started reviewing routines for an upcoming show with our friends the Riverside Cloggers!
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!
What ripples? Altering clogging routines to fit different rule sets.
Once a team dances a clogging routine for a while, it's easy to overlook the components of the routine. Case in point: It took WEEKS for Fancy Free Cloggers competition team to realize we had not one, but THREE ripples in our open line!
FFC attends competitions sanctioned by different clogging organizations. The categories and rules vary for each, but our competition routines generally work for all with minor tweaks.
Return to Hoedown Island, with a surprise...
Cloggerella: A bedtime story for cloggers
There once lived a girl who truly loved clogging. Her name was Ella, but no one called her anything but Cloggerella. She needed dancing as the bright spot in her life. After her dance instructor mother passed away, Cloggerella's father in his grief and loneliness married a clogging teacher from the failed studio one town over.
The stepmother wasted no time in taking over the household dance studio and making Cloggerella's life miserable.
The early clogger gets the discount hotel rate...
Lesson learned. Do NOT hesitate to book your hotel room for a clogging competition or workshop!
My team will be attending the NCHC National Clogging Competition in September. It will take place at the Opryland Hotel! Of course, there are discount hotel rates for cloggers. Of course, there are limitations on those discounts.
Clogging Connection in the Big Apple!
Clogging Connection brought Florida sunshine and impressive dance skills to the 11th Annual Dance Parade and Festival in New York City on May 20.
This parade began as a response to a New York Supreme Court case in 2006, which upheld an antiquated Cabaret Law from the 1920s, stating that social dancing is not a protected form of expression. The parade begins with a minute of silence for those around the world who cannot dance. This year's parade theme was "Dance for Peace."
Cloggin' at the fair!
Home Sweet Studio!
My youngest nephew hopped on a plane from the Sunshine State to the Buckeye State last week for a visit with Aunt Sheila Jo and Uncle Handsome Gentleman. Yes, you read that correctly: he LEFT the land of Disney for vacation!
Having out-of-state family around always makes me appreciate my local area more. Things I take for granted because they're always around become special again when viewed through other eyes.