atishoo!

It seems cold and clog don't mix...well I suppose I can time a shuffle with a sneeze. lol!
So having a little break from it for a few days.

Double and single heels...woo.

Woo!
Managed to do double & single heels at faster speed. Then paused DVD and tried it twice and it still worked. I found it easier to find the groove when I went faster than going slower. Weird huh?
Next step: practice till I can do it to different hornpipe.

Mirror, Mirror...

Mirror, Mirror on the wall who does the roundest shuffles of the all.....

I can't believe I had never thought of this before. Balancing mirror up against the wardrobe so I can see my footwork without leaning over and loosing my balance.
p.s. excuse the mess.

Double, Double toil and trouble...

These are the two steps I'm struggling with....

Double & Single Heels

Start this video from 0.17 I 'cut' the video in the wrong place so you get my mess up at the beginning.

Double Shuffle


I just can't get into the double shuffle after a break....the rhythm just goes potty.


btw. 'Music to Clog to' arrived yesterday. :) Will have to test it out this evening.

another video

Here's my latest video. I'm going to try and do some more but ran out of time today.

Still not quite getting hang of the double & single heels. Not getting in the groove shall we say...keep getting ahead of myself. And trying to remember where I am with the double shuffle is another thing still working on.
Think I''m gonna have to record music at slower tempo to dance to for that till I stop making mistakes.

rounded shuffles

Been working on doing rounded shuffles. Think I am getting the hang of it now.
Easier on left foot than right.
Looks like I'm waiting impatiently for the kettle to boil when practice shuffles in kitchen area. lol!

On side note.
Just realized my first blog post was in June so that's about 3 months I've been learning.

still going...

Did some practice over weekend etc. again. Give it a week might have a new progress video up.

Update 8/9/2011

Yesterday's one off 2 hour lesson went well. I was exhausted afterwards (not used to that much exercise) I am so unfit. lol!
Enjoyed it though. Definitely boosted my confidence.
Felt my balance/posture has improved too.
I did have to laugh every time I finished on the wrong foot.
Ended up doing the steps faster than I have been doing at home
So that's in improvement too.

Happy Feet!

Here's a subject that I think relates to the clog dance....feet.

I am by nature quite a sedentary person. My feet have always been a problem. Finding shoes that don't end up with blisters or bleeding ankles is hard for me.
I have found the clogs (a lovely custom pair from Trefor Owen) I have comfortable and have not had any of the usual problems.

In general though I have recently had to take more care of my feet after spotting I had an ingrowing toenail about 6 months ago.

Got myself a routine.
- soak feet in salt water
- cut tonails (I find if nail gets too long it aggravates ingrowing toenail)
- cream feet

I find if I leave off the routine for more than a couple of days the cracked heels and dry skin come back.

Keeping my feet healthy is also more of a focus as that's what I'm dancing with...and don't like having to put off practice coz my feet are sore.

On another note practiced again last night.

Excuses...excuses....

I'm afraid didn't get any practice done this weekend either. :blush:
Was at EATMT Traditional Music Day on the Saturday
http://www.eatmt.org.uk/tmd.htm

Watching the stepdancing and playing in the sessions mainly. Had really nice day. And the Weather was fab.

I will be doing some practice this evening. As managed to get a one off clog lesson locally. So I'll let you know how I get on after that on Wednesday.