Summer Camp 2024 - Dance Workshop
Flatfoot Refresher Workshop and Step Share with Clare and Paul Sheridan
Saturday 17th August 2024
Bredon Village Hall, Main Road, Bredon, GL20 7QN (Near Summer Camp site at Croft Farm Water Park)
Hard soles preferred, musicians welcome
Free to FOAOTMAD members, non-members £10
To reserve your place please click on this link.
Saturday 17th August 2024
Bredon Village Hall, Main Road, Bredon, GL20 7QN (Near Summer Camp site at Croft Farm Water Park)
- Workshop 1.30-2.30pm
- Dance Party 2.30-4.30pm
Hard soles preferred, musicians welcome
Free to FOAOTMAD members, non-members £10
To reserve your place please click on this link.
Dance
Appalachian Dance has evolved from a mixture of dance styles taken to the Appalachian Mountains of North America by the European settlers of the 19th century and earlier. It is generally performed to the old-time tunes that came with them from the Celtic homelands and has been greatly influenced by the African and Native American dance rhythms found in the New World. This exciting mixture of traditions provides the basis for the exhilarating percussive nature of Appalachian Dance today.
Clogging or flat footing evolved as an individual free style form of expression, with a person using their feet as an instrument to make rhythmic and percussive sounds to accompany fiddle and banjo music. Subsequently in the 20th century many people began to add to this footwork to the square dances that had been enjoyed in their communities for decades.
During the early 1970’s, the Green Grass Cloggers were formed by North Carolina students. They combined square dance moves and old-time steps with high kicks to create a uniquely stylised choreographed clogging form that endures today. A number of American dancers have visited the UK over the years and many home teams have been influenced and inspired by them, especially Ira Bernstein and members of the Fiddle Puppets and Footworks.
Clogging or flat footing evolved as an individual free style form of expression, with a person using their feet as an instrument to make rhythmic and percussive sounds to accompany fiddle and banjo music. Subsequently in the 20th century many people began to add to this footwork to the square dances that had been enjoyed in their communities for decades.
During the early 1970’s, the Green Grass Cloggers were formed by North Carolina students. They combined square dance moves and old-time steps with high kicks to create a uniquely stylised choreographed clogging form that endures today. A number of American dancers have visited the UK over the years and many home teams have been influenced and inspired by them, especially Ira Bernstein and members of the Fiddle Puppets and Footworks.
There is a generally accepted form of notation of dance steps and routines, giving dancers the opportunity to learn without having to travel to workshops. This enables them to work out their own choreography to old-time tunes and also make up new step variations. It is often easier to learn by watching and copying another dancer, who can break the steps down during workshops.
Today the two forms of dance are often identified separately. Flat footing is normally done solo with the dancers doing freestyle moves with their feet staying close to the floor, “playing the tune with their feet”. The sound is made using the flat foot, the heel and the toe, with a walking movement, most often with hard or leather soled shoes.
Today the two forms of dance are often identified separately. Flat footing is normally done solo with the dancers doing freestyle moves with their feet staying close to the floor, “playing the tune with their feet”. The sound is made using the flat foot, the heel and the toe, with a walking movement, most often with hard or leather soled shoes.
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Paul Sheridan in a session at Gainsborough |
Cloggers dance in teams with choreographed dance routines, often containing high steps and extravagant movement and wear tap shoes to accentuate the sound. Clogging teams will sometimes perform to amplified or recorded music, usually “old-time”. An example of clogging is shown in the next video.
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Feet First at the Chesterfield Canal Festival 2018 |
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Almost unknown in the U.K. is modern competition clogging which is much faster, often performed to pop music and shoes have double taps which rattle loudly!
There are always several dance workshops at the FOAOTMAD Gainsborough Festival each February and dance parties take place around the country throughout the year with the opportunity to dance to live old-time music.
There are always several dance workshops at the FOAOTMAD Gainsborough Festival each February and dance parties take place around the country throughout the year with the opportunity to dance to live old-time music.
The FOAOTMAD dance representative can be emailed at [email protected]
A list of dance groups can be found here
A map of dance groups can be found here
A list of dance groups can be found here
A map of dance groups can be found here
The Tappers' Retreat from One Step Beyond
The Tappers’ Retreat is the workbook of notations of the 20 principal dances of One Step Beyond (OSB), the performance name of a group of dancers and musicians from the Worcestershire and West Midlands regions of the UK. It is a free resource in PDF format. For more information and to find a download link to the PDF file, please click on the page link below.
Kerry Fletcher’s Instructional Videos
Follow the links listed below to view Kerry Fletcher’s instructional videos on some of the most common Appalachian clogging steps. For more information see her website: www.kerryfletcher.co.uk
Earl
https://youtu.be/c10W-oqxHVE
Pearl Earl
https://youtu.be/w40xI0pP1As
Pigeon Wing
https://youtu.be/uIfe_udiVZY
Wagon Wheel
https://youtu.be/fxpnOuWsaDo
Basics
https://youtu.be/y3gbGAwkp8o
Kick the Cat
https://youtu.be/Cs-42gnWiA8
Grand Square Kick
https://youtu.be/wpGOGSmlv5I
Cajun Lady
https://youtu.be/6qXJlquV7lI
Charlie
https://youtu.be/pa4zQYXb5FU
Possum Trot
https://youtu.be/Jc9T-7rZfng
Alamo
https://youtu.be/-GdKVncZ-iM
2 Basics, Alamo
https://youtu.be/ywb7xM3w9Yw
Cowboy
https://youtu.be/VtCDfEapidE
Farmyard Slide
https://youtu.be/WZLNnQ0Th2s
Tennessee Running Step
https://youtu.be/9n4Te43ePDE
Chaos Step
https://youtu.be/iz3TxP-Arbs
Brad
https://youtu.be/-KpqkMAYxD4
https://youtu.be/c10W-oqxHVE
Pearl Earl
https://youtu.be/w40xI0pP1As
Pigeon Wing
https://youtu.be/uIfe_udiVZY
Wagon Wheel
https://youtu.be/fxpnOuWsaDo
Basics
https://youtu.be/y3gbGAwkp8o
Kick the Cat
https://youtu.be/Cs-42gnWiA8
Grand Square Kick
https://youtu.be/wpGOGSmlv5I
Cajun Lady
https://youtu.be/6qXJlquV7lI
Charlie
https://youtu.be/pa4zQYXb5FU
Possum Trot
https://youtu.be/Jc9T-7rZfng
Alamo
https://youtu.be/-GdKVncZ-iM
2 Basics, Alamo
https://youtu.be/ywb7xM3w9Yw
Cowboy
https://youtu.be/VtCDfEapidE
Farmyard Slide
https://youtu.be/WZLNnQ0Th2s
Tennessee Running Step
https://youtu.be/9n4Te43ePDE
Chaos Step
https://youtu.be/iz3TxP-Arbs
Brad
https://youtu.be/-KpqkMAYxD4
