An interesting hobby

Last Thursday, I went to watch my mom’s clogging class.

That’s right, clogging class.

She clogs.

I sat with a group of spectators while 30 women (and two men) danced up a storm for two hours. There were beginner, intermediate, and advanced routines. People would stand up and do the dances they knew, and sit down and watch when they were unsure of the steps. The music was a combination of Celtic and Highland classics, and also modern, popular music including the theme song to Footloose and “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire.

When I was younger, I took tap dancing lessons. I loved it, but gradually lost interest. Clogging is something very different from tap dancing. Many of the steps are the same, but the overall flow has been altered. When tap dancing, the whole body is used to DANCE to the music. When clogging, the feet are the primary tool.

To better illustrate what I mean by “clogging,” I have included a video below. These are not the people I personally watched last Thursday, just in case you were wondering.



It’s pretty cool! Some dancers in the class wore red shoes, others yellow shoes. The instructor had crazy pink-and-white shoes, and mom told me she has about five different pairs. I would love to do something like this for recreation, and it would have been an interesting idea for an IPP. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time during the school year. Maybe after I graduate...

I wanted to visit mom’s clogging class to see what all the fuss is about, and I’m glad I went. Next, I’m going to visit her Japanese drumming class, and see what that’s like.

Yep, Japanese drumming.

Mom has interesting hobbies.