When the old Morris Dances decayed in the country districts of England, many of the local customs and manners died with them, and are now entirely lost; but what is considered a survival can yet be found, and is familiar to many of us under the name of Clog Dancing.

The old Morris Dancers had attached to their ankles bands of bells, which sounded with the jerking and kicking of the dancers’ feet as they kept time with the measure and music of the accompaniment.

The use of these bells has now, however, almost entirely ceased, and the heavy wooden clog alone remains. In place of the ringing and jingling, with which the Morris man accompanied his dance, the clog makes only a tapping against the floor, sharper in its precision, if less musical than the old bells.

The clogs suitable for drawing-room dancing have wooden soles and leather “uppers.” These can be obtained in endless variety, from the plain black or red morocco, to the stylish patent leather shoes.

But whatever the style or make of the clogs, one thing is essential—they must fit perfectly. The appearance matters little, so long as the clogs are an exact fit. Nobody present cares to see your feet, but everybody desires to see a skillful dance, and that cannot be performed with a loose shoe.

Having obtained the shoes, the next thing to arrange is the floor. A smooth wood floor, or a slate slab, provide excellent surfaces for practicing and learning upon, while for the actual drawing-room performance, a thick, smooth piece of wood, about two and a half feet square, and neatly polished, is very suitable. This can be moved at pleasure, and taken away after the performance is concluded, without any awkward rolling back of carpets or moving of furniture.

It is necessary now to devote a little attention to the more important steps to be learned. In the diagrams illustrating this subject the letter R denotes the right, and L the left foot, and this must be constantly borne in mind to make the illustrations intelligible.

The first and most important thing to remember, is to keep the toes well turned outwards wherever the nature of the figure does not render this impossible. A glance at Fig. 1 will illustrate this. In all the steps practice with the left foot is needed more than with the right, as the latter can generally be trusted to take care of itself.

The First Step

The first step to learn is the shuffle, which should be attempted with one foot first, preferably the left.

Stand firmly upon the right foot, and strike the left toe forward (as in Fig. 2) towards A, at the same time making a tap upon the floor. Draw it back from A towards B, making another tap. This should be done repeatedly until it is possible to make the taps in quick succession and in even time.

Having mastered this with the left foot, acquire the same proficiency with the right. The ankle must be kept loose and mobile. Any stiffness or inflexibility will utterly spoil all efforts.

Single and Double Shuffles

Having become familiar with the two taps with both feet, attempts to use right and left alternately should be made, the while standing upon the toes. Thus: left forward and back, two taps; right forward and back, two taps, making in all four taps in rapid and even succession.

This is known as the single shuffle, and it is surprising how many music hall artists and public performers know no more than this rudimentary movement. Yet it shows how necessary it is to be perfectly easy and familiar with the action, which may be considered, together with the double shuffle, as the ground-work of the art.

The double shuffle is simply a duplication of the single shuffle. Each foot goes forward and backwards twice, making four taps for the right and four for the left, or eight taps in all. This is really no harder than the single shuffle, and must be learned as thoroughly. Indeed, it is wise to practice no more steps until these two shuffles have been perfectly mastered.

Having grown familiar with the steps already described, it is time to learn some of the variations of the two shuffles. Begin with the single shuffle and

Variation No. 1.

—Stand upon the toes of both feet, give one tap with the left toe, and a single shuffle with the right foot. Then one tap with the right, and a single shuffle with the left. Keep this up continuously, and as clearly and rapidly as possible, taking care that the beats are all equal, and that no one tap is louder than any of the others.

The result will be a continuous roll, like that of a drum, and is very effective.

Variation No. 2.

—Give one tap with the left foot, and a shuffle with the right, as in the preceding step, then hop on the left, tap with the right, shuffle with the left, and hop on the right. This makes eight taps in all, and produces another continuous roll. By pausing on the hop each time, another step is apparently introduced, and the smooth action is varied pleasantly.

The hopping mentioned above does not mean a skip into the air. It is simply employed to give a tap, and is more for the sake of appearance than for actual sound. It can therefore be replaced by making a tap with the heel, which is in itself a prominent feature in the Clog Dance. Indeed the tap from the heel is often preferable as being more characteristic and elegant than the hop, which has to be done most gracefully to look at all well.

Variation No. 3.

—Make one tap with the left toe, shuffle with the right foot, tap with the left heel, and bring the right toe behind the left foot, as in Fig. 3, A and B.

Fig. 3.—The third variation.