CLOG DANCING
A NOVEL ENTERTAINMENT
WHEN the old Morris Dances decayed in the country districts of England,
many of the local customs and manners died with them, and are now
entirely lost; but what is considered a survival can yet be found, and
is familiar to many of us under the name of Clog Dancing.
The old Morris Dancers had attached to their ankles bands of bells,
which sounded with the jerking and kicking of the dancers’ feet as they
kept time with the measure and music of the accompaniment.
The use of these bells has now, however, almost entirely ceased, and the
heavy wooden clog alone remains. In place of the ringing and jingling,
with which the Morris man accompanied his dance, the clog makes only a
tapping against the floor, sharper in its precision, if less musical
than the old bells.
The clogs suitable for drawing-room dancing have wooden soles and
leather “uppers.” These can be obtained in endless variety, from the
plain black or red morocco, to the stylish patent leather shoes.
But whatever the style or make of the clogs, one thing is
essential--they must fit perfectly. The appearance matters little, so
long as the clogs are an exact fit. Nobody present cares to see your
feet, but everybody desires to see a skillful dance, and that cannot be
performed with a loose shoe.
Having obtained the shoes, the next thing to arrange is the floor. A
smooth wood floor, or a slate slab, provide excellent surfaces for
practicing and learning upon, while for the actual drawing-room
performance, a thick, smooth piece of wood, about two and a half feet
square, and neatly polished, is very suitable. This can be moved at
pleasure, and taken away after the performance is concluded, without any
awkward rolling back of carpets or moving of furniture.
It is necessary now to devote a little attention to the more important
steps to be learned. In the diagrams illustrating this subject the
letter R denotes the right, and L the left foot, and this must be
constantly borne in mind to make the illustrations intelligible.
The first and most important thing to remember, is to keep the toes well
turned outwards wherever the nature of the figure does not render this
impossible. A glance at Fig. 1 will illustrate this. In all the steps
practice with the left foot is needed more than with the right, as the
latter can generally be trusted to take care of itself.
THE FIRST STEP
The first step to learn is the shuffle, which should be attempted with
one foot first, preferably the left.
Stand firmly upon the right foot, and strike the left toe forward (as in
Fig. 2) towards A, at the same time making a tap upon the floor. Draw it
back from A towards B, making another tap. This should be done
repeatedly until it is possible to make the taps in quick succession and
in even time.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Correct standing position.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--The single shuffle.]
Having mastered this with the left foot, acquire the same proficiency
with the right. The ankle must be kept loose and mobile. Any stiffness
or inflexibility will utterly spoil all efforts.
SINGLE AND DOUBLE SHUFFLES
Having become familiar with the two taps with both feet, attempts to use
right and left alternately should be made, the while standing upon the
toes. Thus: left forward and back, two taps; right forward and back, two
taps, making in all four taps in rapid and even succession.
This is known as the single shuffle, and it is surprising how many music
hall artists and public performers know no more than this rudimentary
movement. Yet it shows how necessary it is to be perfectly easy and
familiar with the action, which may be considered, together with the
double shuffle, as the ground-work of the art.
The double shuffle is simply a duplication of the single shuffle. Each
foot goes forward and backwards twice, making four taps for the right
and four for the left, or eight taps in all. This is really no harder
than the single shuffle, and must be learned as thoroughly. Indeed, it
is wise to practice no more steps until these two shuffles have been
perfectly mastered.
Having grown familiar with the steps already described, it is time to
learn some of the variations of the two shuffles. Begin with the single
shuffle and
_Variation No. 1._--Stand upon the toes of both feet, give one tap with
the left toe, and a single shuffle with the right foot. Then one tap
with the right, and a single shuffle with the left. Keep this up
continuously, and as clearly and rapidly as possible, taking care that
the beats are all equal, and that no one tap is louder than any of the
others.
The result will be a continuous roll, like that of a drum, and is very
effective.
_Variation No. 2._--Give one tap with the left foot, and a shuffle with
the right, as in the preceding step, then hop on the left, tap with the
right, shuffle with the left, and hop on the right. This makes eight
taps in all, and produces another continuous roll. By pausing on the hop
each time, another step is apparently introduced, and the smooth action
is varied pleasantly.
The hopping mentioned above does not mean a skip into the air. It is
simply employed to give a tap, and is more for the sake of appearance
than for actual sound. It can therefore be replaced by making a tap with
the heel, which is in itself a prominent feature in the Clog Dance.
Indeed the tap from the heel is often preferable as being more
characteristic and elegant than the hop, which has to be done most
gracefully to look at all well.
_Variation No. 3._--Make one tap with the left toe, shuffle with the
right foot, tap with the left heel, and bring the right toe behind the
left foot, as in Fig. 3, A and B.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--The third variation.]
This must be learned carefully, and repeated in the opposite way--that
is, tap on right toe, shuffle with left foot, tap with right heel, and
finish up by bringing the left toe behind the right foot.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--The fourth variation.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--The fifth variation.]
Practice both of these steps, and introduce them, one after the other,
in the actual performance.
_Variation No. 4._--Make one tap with the left toe, shuffle with right
foot, tap the right toe, shuffle left foot, tap with right heel, and
finish with the left toe behind the right foot, as in Variation No. 3.
This should be learned and repeated in the reverse way to the former
step, and the two should be similarly combined to make one continuous
action, which is really elegant to watch.
_Variation No. 5._--Make one tap with the left toe, a shuffle with the
right foot, another tap with the right toe, then a shuffle with the left
foot, a hop on the right toe, finishing with a tap with the left toe
either behind the right foot, as in Fig. 4, or in front of it, as in
Fig. 5. Learn to do this with the feet reversed as before.
If this step be done properly, the result will be a continuous rattle,
which can be kept up indefinitely, the repetitions and reversals
following one another without break or pause of any kind.
VARIATIONS OF DOUBLE SHUFFLE
These variations require no detailed description. Wherever in the
above-mentioned changes the single shuffle is mentioned, a double
shuffle may be introduced. For example, in Variation No. 1, for the
double shuffle the instructions should read: Stand upon the toes of both
feet; give one tap with the left toe, and a double shuffle with the
right foot; then one tap with the right, and a double shuffle with the
left.
By treating the other variations in a similar manner, it will be seen
that ten variations of the single and double shuffles can be obtained.
They should all be learned and practiced until there is not the least
difficulty in performing any one or all of them.
THE SLIDE
There now remains but the _Slide_ to be learned, and as this is one of
the prettiest of all the clog steps, it is well worth taking pains
properly to acquire.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--The slide (first position).]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--The slide (second position).]
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--The slide (third position).]
Stand as in Fig. 6, throwing your weight on the left heel and right toe,
which are to be kept stationary. Now move the left toe and the right
heel in the directions shown by the dotted lines. Your feet will then be
in the position shown in Fig. 7. Keep the left toe and the right heel
stationary, and move the left heel and right toe in the direction
indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8.
By continuing this movement you have a steady gliding action from left
to right, and, reversing the steps, you can, of course, move back from
right to left.
This is really a hornpipe movement, but for clog dancing it is very
suitable for the introduction of taps with heels and toes at every
change of position. It is also possible to introduce shuffles during the
movement, but the plain taps are probably more effective and quite
difficult enough to learn without the introduction of more complicated
movements.
It is possible to dance in clogs to any time, or even against time.
Acquire the steps accurately and readily, and the measure will take care
of itself. To practice the shuffles and their variations, the easiest
plan is to have sixteen bars of music of two-four time, or even a verse
of any song set to that time. As the feet become nimble and the actions
familiar, you will be adept at dancing to any time or measure, whilst
with shuffle and tap your feet will twinkle in the most orthodox and
poetic manner.
Practice in the steps described will also enable you to invent movements
for yourself, such as jumping in the air, striking the clogs together
once or twice, rattling the clogs together on the ground, and numberless
other side tricks and fancies. The regular steps are generally
considered the best, however, and should always be executed when
possible, as they form the essence and genius of the whole art.
Clog dancing is tiring, and it is advisable not to make the dance the
central piece of an evening’s entertainment. It makes a good
accompaniment or “gag,” but is not suitable for a _pièce de résistance_.
Adroitly performed it will win approval; and what more can the home
entertainer desire?