Traditional Appalachian Clogging

Mondays, 3/23 - 4/27: 7 - 8 PM

Traditional Appalachian Clogging (a.k.a flatfooting, buck dancing and jig dancing) is a truly “American” folk dance in the sense that it came into being organically from the intermixing of Irish, African and Indigenous cultures influencing each other. These three groups lived in proximity to each other along the Appalachian mountain range beginning somewhere around the late 18th century.

The traditional dances of these groups amalgamated into this rhythmic, percussive dance form that originally accompanied stringed instruments such as fiddle and banjo. The dancer didn’t follow a prescribed pattern or restrain themselves to a particular style, it was pure freestyle expression. The only rule is that the sounds the dancers make are in time with the music.

  • Tuition: $125 per participant

  • Materials Fee: None

  • Required Equipment: Students will need to wear smooth, hard soled shoes that make sound on a hard floor (think leather or hard soled dress shoes - these can often be found at a thrift store). Soft rubber soled shoes, tap shoes, or Dansko-style clogs are not recommended.

  • Age / Ability Level: This class is open to all levels of experience. Minimum age 15; 10 with an adult.

  • This class will provide an introduction to traditional Appalachian clogging where students will learn the “foundational steps” of clogging. The class will learn different ways to combine the foundational steps and eventually create their own patterns to begin experimenting with “freestyling”. This percussive dance form is an energetic and joyful expression of how music moves through the body and comes out through the feet making rhythmic sounds. Like most percussive dance forms, clogging is an aerobic dance form that will get your heart pumping and put a smile on your face!

  • The class is designed for able-bodied people. Clogging can certainly be done by differently-abled bodies, but the instructor does not have experience teaching clogging in this way.

    CENTER FOR PEOPLE AND CRAFT is committed to building a diverse, inclusive learning community where people of all backgrounds feel welcome and able to participate. As we launch our first workshop series, we are dedicating space in each class for reduced-tuition scholarships to support anyone facing financial barriers. As we build a more robust scholarship program, we hope this initial launch will remove barriers and expand access to hands-on learning for all.

    Anyone with financial need is encouraged to apply for a half-tuition scholarship. To be considered, please submit a brief online application. Please note that CENTER FOR PEOPLE AND CRAFT is operating with limited financial resources and an entirely volunteer staff. Therefore, we cannot guarantee a spot for every applicant. Each class has one scholarship slot available. Applicants who are not selected in this current round are welcome to reapply.  Apply here

  • CPC is able to provide refunds up to two weeks before the start date of the class for which the registration was submitted, though we do retain a $20 fee for return payment processing. If you need to cancel your class within the two week window, a refund is not guaranteed, but will be considered based on several factors.

    If CPC needs to cancel a class due to low enrollment, teacher illness, or other factors, you will receive a full refund. Read our full set of policies.

meet your instructor

Andy Lambert has been clogging for over 20 years and is a former member of the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers, Pert Near Sandstone, and the Okee Dokee Brothers band. Having danced on stages all over the United States and Europe, Andy ran the Minneappalachian Clogging School from 2012 to 2016, and has taught several classes at North House Folk School.