Cloggers cut a rug at Hickory Hoedown

Credit: Robert C. Reed | Hickory Daily Record

Ashlyn Kirby, 8, performs her clogging routine to the song ‘Born To Be Wild’ during Sunday’s Hickory Hoedown Fiddler’s Convention and Clogging Festival at the Hickory Metro Convention Center.

By: Sarah Newell williamson | Hickory Daily Record
Published: November 22, 2009

Hickory --

Ashlyn Kirby slid her foot back and forth, tapping her toes and heels in rapid succession with the music.

The 8-year-old from Columbia, S.C., was at the Hickory Metro Convention Center on Sunday for the Hickory Hoedown Fiddler's Convention and Clogging Festival, a clogging competition she attended with her team.

Kirby has been clogging since she was 4.

"They showed us at day care, and I liked it and started taking classes," she said.

Kirby goes to class every week and to competitions at least once a month. There are five girls and three boys in her class, she said.

"I get to learn new steps and be with my friends," Kirby said.

The costumes and music are as varied as the routines. Kirby wore a yellow tutu and black jacket with a skull outlined in rhinestones on the back. She danced to "Born to Be Wild." Another clogger danced to a song by Prince, while a few others danced to what one would think is more traditional clogging music.

Brandi Willis' outfit resembled Britney Spears' clothing in her "Baby One More Time" phase. She wore a short, blue-checked skirt, pink and yellow shirt, knee socks and glasses, which she immediately took off and tossed aside during her routine.

"The only rules for outfits is that it can't show cleavage," she said.

Willis said her clogging instructors select the outfits for the routines, which they also created.

Willis has clogged for six years.

"I like doing solos and duets," she said. "It's just a lot of fun."

Morgan Murphy, 12, was also from South Carolina and at Sunday's clogging competition. She initially took jazz, tap and ballet when she was younger.

"Some of my friends took clogging, though," she said. "When I was 7, I started."

Murphy no longer does the other types of dance. Like Kirby, she said she goes to at least one clogging competition a month.

"We have a lot of different routines that we do," Murphy said.

To do your steps, you have to stay on the balls of your feet, she said. The key to being a successful clogger is practicing your routine a lot at home, Murphy said.

The Hickory Hoedown Fiddler's Convention and Clogging Festival will be held from Nov. 19 to 21 in 2010.