This dance form has been around for hundreds of years.  It originated in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States when early settlers from Holland, Germany, Great Britain and Africa combined their dance traditions.  They called it “buck dancing”, “flat footing”, or just plain dancing.  It was usually done to live fiddle music.

Clogging and tap dancing have common roots.  Clogging became the country cousin of tap dancing.  Tap is high impact and clogging is low impact.

The term clogging comes from the heavy shoes once worn by the working people of Great Britain.  In Holland, Belgium and France the dance was done with wooden shoes.  Present day cloggers use an oxford shoe with a special double-plated steel tap.

Clogging is continually in a state of change and improvisation by its individual performers so that today it is performed not only to country and bluegrass music, but to pop, jazz and rap. 

Would-be cloggers usually take a beginner course of 8 to 12 weeks in duration. All basic clog steps are taught as well as five or six actual dances. The beginner starts off slowly, then builds momentum, and at the end of the course is able to dance at a fairly good pace, which is great cardiovascular exercise, and have just plain good fun!

The basic unit in clogging is the local club.  Clubs very in size and are usually affiliated with an association which covers a geographical area called a “zone”.  There are six active associations in Alberta.  Associations are part of a federation which in Alberta is called the Alberta Square & Round Dance Federation.