Original clogs were wooden shoes...
Clogging originated in Europe hundreds of years ago; yet it is fresh and as American as apple pie. Clogging is a mixture of Scot-Irish, English, French, American Indian and black folk dancing. In its original form in northern England, the dance was performed in heavy wooden shoes called "clogs." The cumbersome shoes are no longer worn. Many of our ancestors who came to American brought along their own cultures.

What we know as clogging, was trapped for many years in the remoteness of the Appalachian Mountains, the style passed from generation to generation. When mountain folk came together, someone would grab a fiddle. Then began the good-natured clapping, singing, yelling and stomping across the rough-hewn floors.

When rural folk began to move into urban areas in the early 1900s, they brought clogging with them. It grew in popularity. Clogging in early-day minstrel and vaudeville shows led to modern tap dancing. The first tap dancers glued pennies to the bottom of their shoes to create the sound. Metal taps came later when tap dancing grew in popularity as exhibition entertainment. So, too, has clogging grown as spectator entertainment. Routines range from easy to advanced and all are fun to do. As stage entertainment, cloggers – like the circus acrobat – tend to shock an audience. The music is fast, the clogs are loud, the footwork amazing, and the skilled cloggers are attractive in their bright costumes. A good clogging routine can be hypnotic.