Clogging

January 24th, 2012
clogging, contra
Listen at a contra dance and you'll hear people clogging, making noise with their feet. It's now mostly limited to balances and long lines, but you'll see people do it when they're 'inactive' during an older dance like Chorus Jig. Back when most dances had 'actives' and 'inactives' there was a lot more of that. Most clogging now is teams that do southern clogging or modern competition clogging with synchronized stepping routines. This does make it better to watch, but I like it as a component of social dance, not performance. If you go to a lot of contra dances on good wooden floors wearing shoes that make noise, you'll pick it up the old way as part of the dancing. [1]


[1] This is how I learned it. If you're curious you can see me clogging some while calling at Northboro or by myself. I also did some while dancing with the the Points of Etiquette longsword side, enough to learn that I don't enjoy routines.

Comment via: google plus, facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Shoshannah Tekofsky on how AI agents suck at personality tests, don't express surprise, and lie to themselves

Can you introduce yourself for people who don’t know who you are?

via Thing of Things February 11, 2026

2025-26 New Year review

This is an annual post reviewing the last year and setting intentions for next year. I look over different life areas (work, health, parenting, effectiveness, etc) and analyze my life tracking data. Highlights include a minimal group house, the usefulness…

via Victoria Krakovna January 19, 2026

Why I Don't Think My Braces Were Worth It

A couple weeks ago, I got my braces off. I kind of wish I had never had them, though. When I was younger, two of my teeth were sticking out, and they looked kind of funny. I thought that my teeth were just fine, and I didn't want to get braces. But s…

via Anna Wise's Blog Posts January 3, 2026

more     (via openring)