North Carolina’s Official State Folk Dance Clogging North Carolina’s Official State Folk Dance

Origins People who settled in the Appalachian Mountains in western NC came from many different backgrounds African, European (mostly English, Irish, and Scottish) Those cultures brought their own dances and then they mixed together to form clogging.

African Dance Influence Poly-rhythms Percussive music and steps African Rhythms video

European Influence Irish step dancing and other dances similar to it Little use of arm movements Major use of feet and leg movements Riverdance

Beginnings of Clogging in NC Late 1800s – Closely resembles Irish dancing (many residents were still 1st or 2nd generation European) Men's Clog Competition 1890s

Established Mountain Dance Form Early to Mid 1900s – (1950-ish) Well known dance among residents, performed for fun and is firmly a part of the Appalachian culture Has elements of square dance, partner dance, done to guitar, banjo, country/folk music Clog Dancing on the Porch - Buncomb County, NC

Becoming a Performance Art Mid-1900s (1960-ish) – Adding elements of performance to the dance form Adding formations, unison movements, rehearsed and polished instead of improvised Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers

Performing Dance form Rest of 1900s to Present – uses country/folk music or popular country music Closely resembles tap dance Uses “jingle taps” on shoes NC State clogging team - folk music NC State clogging team - country music

Expanding Our Horizons Present day – clogging steps are being mixed with different types of music to expand the popularity and reach cultures outside of the South All That male clogging group on TV