It is definitely okay to blend in with others but, sometimes, you also need to stand out.
There are people who really stand out, especially when they are doing something along with other people. Just like this young girl who still managed to stand out even when everyone else was also doing exceptionally well.
And she threw it down in an American Clog dance
Clogging is defined as a type of folk dance practiced in the United States. A dancer’s footwear is used to produce percussive sounds by striking the heel, the toe, or both against a floor or each other.
When done well, it creates amazing audible rhythms.
“The dance style has recently fused with others including African-American rhythms, and zapateo/zapateado (which may in itself be derived from early European clog dances), resulting in the birth of newer street dances, such as tap, locking, hakken, stomping, and Gangsta Walking.”
According to Wikipedia, the roots of American Clogging is…
“associated with the predecessor to bluegrass—”old-time” music, which is based on English, and Irish fiddle tunes as well as African banjo tunes. Clogging primarily developed from Irish step dancing called Sean-nós dance; there was also some English, Scottish, German, and Cherokee step dances, as well as African rhythms and movement influences too. It was from clogging that tap dance eventually evolved.”
In this video, a talented young girl put the practice to perfection.
It was during the National Clogging Convention back in 2013 when clog dancers all gathered to compete, learn, and watch American Clogging at it’s finest. Everyone was on their feet enjoying the upbeat tune, making the venue clogged with a lot of cloggers.
There’s no denying that all of them are talented clog dancers, but one young girl from the group shined brighter than the rest! As you watch the video yourself, you’ll eventually understand why.
Watch the young girl in front, the one wearing all black.
The “caller” (the person who leads and calls out the moves before the dancers execute them) calls out the steps like Bird Walk, MJ, and Cotton Eyed Joe- and everyone seems to be aware of these terminologies.
They’re all doing great, springing, stomping, and gliding from here to there. You can really tell these folks are serious with every execution.
As the video progresses, little by little, the girl in all black at the front slowly emerges to the top of the group. She is taking her steps one level higher and, slowly, she’s rising above everyone else.
She is more precise, livelier, and more energetic with each move.
It’s like she is just having a good time, probably because this is something she loves doing. You can see her smiling throughout the routine and that is something that the audience likes to see from a dancer.
Any performance becomes more beautiful if the performer is happy with what he or she is doing, wouldn’t you agree?
On a side note, the person holding the video recorder is none other than her mom. She must’ve felt so proud to see her daughter excel in such a specific dance style like American Clogging.
In the comments’ section of the video, the talented girl’s mom explained:
“She has been dancing in various forms since the age of 18 mos. This video was from her second year at the National Clogging Convention with her friend Jacki. It was also the last year that she clogged. She spends more time with tap, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop now a days. I can feel her soul speak when she dances. Thank you for watching!”
As I scroll through the comments, a lot of people who’ve seen the video online pretty much agrees with mom right there.
Just watch the video below and see what they’re talking about.
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