Hillbillies Have A Unique Dance Art: Appalachian Step Dance (Clogging)
Music and dance are a vital part of hillbilly culture, and the region developed its own, unique form. Clogging, and the related “buck dancing,” are an expression of the mountain/ rural heritage. Clogging, where the legs and feet complete complex, rapid, but very contained movement while the upper body remains still or with minimal movement, is a descendant of the Irish step dances and Scottish dances of immigrant settlers. But clogging and buck dancing evolved differently than the reels, jigs, and hornpipe dances of Irish step dancing. Some steps have African roots, a cross-cultural connection with the dances done by the slaves in the pre-Civil War era. Some moves have traces of Native American traditions, shared between the Scots-Irish Appalachian settlers and the tribes already inhabiting the area. The music includes fiddles and banjos going with a singer, and the feet of the clog dancer supplying part of the percussion.