Hello again! After analyzing
the more refined styles of ballet and jazz in Part 2, I'd like to discuss some
more upbeat choices: tap, clogging, and Irish step. For those CR4ers who might
be new to this series, I'm an engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (RPI) and a National Clogging Champion.
Metal and Muscle
In both tap and clogging,
the shoes worn by the dancer have metal taps on the balls and heels of the
foot. To make articulated sounds more readily achievable, tap shoes have single
taps secured tightly to the bottom of the shoe. Clogging shoes, on the other
hand, have double taps.
Although they have metal
pieces like those on tap shoes, clogging shoes have another tap that is secured
loosely to each of the tightly-secured taps (contrary to popular belief, such clogging
is not done in wooden shoes). The double taps on clogging shoes make for
completely different sounds, and require a slightly different technique than is
used in tap dancing.
Making noise is the point
of both tap and clogging. The stronger one's leg muscles are, the louder (and
sometimes better) sounds that can be produced. For example, my tap dancing
partner in high school was phenomenal. As captain of the school's wrestling
team, he had incredibly strong leg muscles that made him a wonderful tap
dancer.
A tap or clogging dancer's
thighs, quads, and calves tend get a good work-out from a long rehearsal or
practice session. Personally, I can remember being barely able to walk because
of the soreness in my legs after week-long conferences and competitions (but I still
enjoyed every minute of it).
While the technique for the
two styles is vastly different, they have one thing in common: a significant
impact on the feet. Whether dancers are staying mostly on the balls of their
feet for tap or landing flat-footed in clogging, the muscles in the foot must
absorb the impact. Fast, articulated sounds are harder to learn in either style,
and are therefore more impressive to the audience. These sounds require more
practice and skill in manipulating the foot properly.
 Irish Dance
Just as softshoe Irish step
is closer to ballet or jazz, hardshoe Irish step is very similar to tap and
clogging. A hardshoe is similar to a tap or clogging shoe, but has much thicker
fiberglass for taps instead of thin metal. The shoes themselves are heavy
enough to require a decent amount of leg strength to walk in them, let alone
dance.
As you may notice during a
performance, however, an Irish step dancer's upper body is kept very still most
of the time. Therefore, the leg muscles are the crucial part. The stronger a
dancer's legs, the easier it is for the dancer - and the more to watch.
Hopefully,
Part 3 of this series has given you some insight into the world of noisy dance
(when you next see Michael Flatley, you'll appreciate his work even more). Join
me next time for Part 4, when I'll give you a peak into the fun and elegant
styles that ballroom dance has to offer. Until then, keep tapping those feet!
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