The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers is a non-profit educational organization based in Minnesota. Our mission is to promote and sustain interest in traditional Appalachian clogging by offering concerts and workshops anywhere we can find an audience. The Geese offer school programs, workshops for all ages, and performances of 15 minutes to full 1 1/2-hour concerts. The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers was established in 1979 and consist of 13 energetic dancers accompanied by the lively music of the Yard Buzzard String Band.

The Geese were delighted to have been honored with a 2009 SAGE Award along with our Steppin' Out collaborators, the DeLaSouljah Steppers from DeLaSalle High School.

Clogging

Clogging is an American style of dance that, like so many American folk styles, has its roots in the Appalachian region of the south. Clogging itself comes from three separate traditions. The type of foot movements derive from early African-American buck dancing, or flat-footing, which featured percussion created by foot movements and hand and body slapping. Plantations in North America eventually outlawed slaves from playing drums, but permitted the percussive sound of the banjo. Buck dancing usually accompanied the fiddle and banjo pairing and created even more percussion to the combination. The other components of clogging are English step dancing, and Native American dance, particularly from the Cherokee.

The earliest clogging involved only foot movements, and was meant to add percussion to old-time string-band music, which rarely included a drummer. Including choreographed formations was an innovation that evolved in the 1960s. This has become so popular that, to most people, the combination of choreographies with rhythmic foot movements is what now defines clogging. While related to the country-and-western "white-shoe" clogging tradition, Appalachian clogging incorporates more traditional steps danced to old-time music.

Lessons

We'll be offering clogging lessons on Tuesday nights at the Oddfellows Hall starting on March 9th and running through April 13th. Lessons run from 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm, and there is a suggested donation of $5 - $10 per lesson.

The Oddfellows Hall is located at the corner of Hampden and Raymond in St. Paul, directly above the Hampden Park Co-op (928 Raymond Avenue). The entrance is on the north side of the building. For more info, please email clogginglessons@wildgoosechasecloggers.org.

Our dances

The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers characteristically get our choreography from varied sources, including social dancing outside of the group, frequently contra or square dancing. If group members think that a certain movement would have a good appearance when done by dancers in formation, then the movement might find a home in our repertoire. What makes the bulk of our work traditional in character is the type of rhythmic accompaniment expressed by the foot movements. Occasionally, we adapt tap or Irish step dancing to the clogging style, an approach that is more daring because it requires the group to change the rhythmic aspect of the foot movements. In addition to dances in formation, the group also features special dances allowing members to improvise or dance their fanciest steps.

Membership

The membership of The Wild Goose Chase Cloggers includes six male and seven female dancers and three musicians. Membership is on a voluntary basis and turns over at the rate of one or two per year. The newest members have been with the group for less than one year. The senior member has been with the group for over twenty-three years. We audition as openings occur.

Auditions

Speaking of which, we'll be holding auditions for both male and female cloggers on Wednesday, March 17th at 7:30 pm at the Oddfellows Hall (928 Raymond Ave. above the Hampden Park Co-op; entrance is on the north-side of the building). No experience is necessary, and please wear hard-soled shoes (no taps please). For more info, call Rina at 651 261 0726 or email rina@wildgoosechasecloggers.org.