Sure, hip hop and other contemporary dance sports are cool, but have you ever seen an entire family tap their feet to the beat?
The Bon Family and the California All-Star Cloggers performed an amazing tippity-tappity routine at an event organized by TuTu Dance called Lipstick, Shoes, and Fancy Moves. This annual event is a congregation of performers celebrating the dance styles and arts reflecting the traditions of Southern California.
In that year’s stage, The Bon Family marched up to the stage clad in their lumberjack plaids, jeans, and white clogging shoes. Right away, they jumped into the beat and shuffled enthusiastically on stage.
After the first part of their routine, they revealed that there’s more to the show than the first two minutes of tapping. A group joined them on stage and took their places. They started dancing on cue, seamlessly joining the performance and made it a festive celebration of shuffling.
The quick tight cadence is enough to let everybody know that this craft takes dedication, athlete-like endurance, and unrelenting precision.
According to their website, The Bon Family Cloggers is made up of seven brothers and sisters along with their performing teams. They’ve been a staple in State and world fairs, flaunting the Americana tradition in quick steps with an energy that will get you up on your feet.
Clogging, deriving from the Gaelic word for “time”, is a distinct dance style originating from the Appalachian Mountains.
Settlers coming for Holland, Germany, and Britain brought in their respecting folk dance style when they settled into the colonies and has since been passed down to generations. Combining it with influences from Native American and African American traditions, clogging has evolved into a percussive “foot-tapping” dance style. But it was in the 1920s when clogging became widely known after Bascar Lumar Lunsford, host of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in Asheville, added a team clogging competition into the festival.
It has also been called jigging, buck dancing, flat-footing, and backstepping. And while they can argue on which other name it should be called, we can all agree that this family is showing how clogging is done.
The 11-minute video that has racked up over 100,000 views, not only showcased their talents as a dance team but also their individual styles and personalities.
Some of them did a duo routine, while the more experienced dancers took on the stage to do their individual signature routines and improvisations.
The duo performances were so entertainingly precise and synchronized while the improvisations on individual performances introduced that the dance tradition can be shaped through one’s character and creativity.
As their whole performance progressed, the Bon Family was left on the stage once more for a final routine.
Their ages and generations may vary but their love for the dance is obvious with how much fun they’re having while also preserving a tradition that spanned decades.
Clogging might be a dance style that’s not seeing mass media exposure, but it still holds its place as one of the most iconic dance traditions, not only in the Appalachian Range but also in many places in the United States.
Watch how this family tapped their way into the hearts of their audience through sheer skill, precision, and enthusiasm.
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