Clogging is a type of folk dance rooted in traditional European dancing from the British Isles,[1] in which the dancer's footwear is used musically by striking the heel, the toe, or both in unison against a floor or each other to create audible percussive rhythms.[2] Clog is from a Gaelic word meaning "time."
Clogging was social dance in the Appalachian Mountains as early as the 1700's.
As the clogging style has migrated over the years, many localities have made contributions by adding local steps and rhythms to the style. Welsh seamen appear to have adopted the dance very early on and may have been those who introduced it to the British Isles. As the dance migrated to England in the 1400s, the all wooden clog was replaced by a leather topped shoe with a one piece wooden bottom. By the 1500s a more convention leather shoe with separate wooden pieces on the heel and toe called "flats" became popular, from where the terms "heel and toe" and "flat footing" derive.
In later periods it was not always called "clogging", being known variously as flat-footing, foot-stomping, buck dancing,clog dancing, jigging, or other local terms. What all these had in common was emphasizing the downbeat of the music by enthusiastic footwork.As for the shoes many old clogging shoes had no taps.Some were made of leather and velvet.The soles of the shoes were either wooden or hard leather.
Clogging is traditional in Wales and is a regular feature of both local and national eisteddfodau. Competition can be energetic with the dancers leaping over brooms. 'Welsh Clog Dancing is not like North-West or Lancashire Step. It is not a revival, as it is danced in the style of the unbroken tradition.
Clog dancing was a common pastime in 18th century England. It is thought to have developed in the Lancashire cotton mills where wooden-soled clogs were preferred to leather soles because the floors were kept wet to help keep the humidity high, important in cotton spinning. Clog dancers were a common sight at music halls throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century. Dan Leno became the world champion clog dancer in the 1880s, although records show that competitive clog dancing was a frequent occurrence throughout the 19th century.
English clogging started in the Industrial Revolution. Men sitting at the weaving machines wore hard-soled shoes, which they would tap to the rhythms of the machines to keep their feet warm. At their breaks and lunches, they would have competitions, where they were judged on the best rhythm patterns. In later years of the Industrial Revolution, they clogged on proper stages at competitions. In these competitions, the judges would watch the routine and judge it according to footwork, precision, and technique. Clogging traditions still exist in some festivals in Northumberland, and are danced to the traditional music of the area. Clog dancing is also still practiced in parts of Lancashire and Cheshire.
More recently Peter Zebedee has begun a Clogging revival in the provincial Northern town of Keighley. Modern Clogging or "Clog Clubbing" is picking up and proving to be quite popular.
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