Buck Dancing and Flat Footing | Appalachian Dancing

Buck dancing is freestyle solo dancing. The dancer does many of the basic clogging steps, but adds in extra kicks, stomps or shuffles in order to make more sounds per beat than in regular clogging.

Appalachian dancing evolved mostly from Irish, Scottish and English immigrants sharing their dance steps. Later, Cherokee Indian ceremonial dances and black minstrel shows might have influenced dancing styles.

In buck dancing, steps are done on the balls of the feet, then the heel clicks on the floor, and back to the ball of the foot. A buck dancer doesn't often wear taps like cloggers do. There aren't many documented buck dancing steps so people learned the dance by watching and imitating.

Buck dancers usually dance alone and in a small area of space. A buck dancer might even bring his own portable dance board. If other dancers join in, they all dance individually to the rhythm of the music without concerning themselves about the dance steps of others.

Photo by Arbogast Inn on flickr

Flatfoot is a freestyle solo dance where the dancer keeps both feet close to the floor. There are few standard steps; each person just dances to the rhythm of the song. Flatfoot dance steps are made by sliding the feet with a shuffling movement. The shoes do not make a loud noise, like in buck dancing and clogging.

The body stays erect but loose, and the arms move only slightly to help with balance. If more than one person wants to dance, they each dance individually, but still to the rhythm of the music.

Flatfoot dancers dance in a small area; some even bringing their own portable dance board. Years ago, houses had small rooms. In order for several people to dance at once, especially in winter when they couldn't go outdoors, dancers had to dance within their own space and without swinging their arms.

You can flatfoot dance on any hard floor, on a porch or deck, and if you have a piece of plywood or your own portable dance board, you can dance anywhere you like.

Photo by EadaoinFlynn on flickr

Click on the link, choose "instructional dance" on the left menu, then choose "clogging". From there, you'll find flat footing and buck dancing instruction. Instructional Dance and Music DVDs