ASHLAND — It’s not just the people Carole Wolfe enjoys meeting as a part of the Wizards of Dance clogging group; it’s the travel.

“We do a lot of nursing homes, benefits,” Wolfe, 64, said. “We’ve been to Renfroe Valley and did shows down there. We go to Natural Bridge and perform down there. We’ve been about a little bit of everywhere.”

But the people are fun, too.

At a recent performance by the dance group at King’s Daughters and Sons Home, a resident popped out of his seat to join the performers.

“The ones who are able get up and do it when they hear the music,” Wolfe said. It’s not too unusual, referring to the resident who joined them on the dance floor. “They love the music and when it gets peppy and stuff, they wanna be up and doing it with us.”

Led by Bill Robinson, the Carter County Cloggers became the Wizards of Dance about 12 years ago. The change occurred because the group grew and included dancers from outside Carter County.

There are beginner, intermediate and advanced classes every week. Classes are offered weekly in Carter County on and at the Ashland Area YMCA. Up to 50 attend class; Robinson said the group that performs takes in 20 to 30 dancers. Performances are usually at nursing homes and festivals. Robinson said in addition to the shows Wolfe named, the cloggers have performed at the Apple Festival in Paintsville, the Festival of Trees and other venues.

Clogging is an Appalachian art form that combines a variety of ethnic dances, including Germanic, Afro-American, Native American and Scotch-Irish, Robinson said. “It’s related to Irish step dancing. So of it comes into clogging, but most of (clogging) is Appalachian dance.”

Robinson said clogging is a great way to get into shape; you don’t even have to be particularly coordinated to clog.

“It’s just repetition, just doing it over and over,” he said. “Really you don’t have to be in good shape. It will help you get in shape and it’s just good exercise. It can be low or high impact, depending on what you want to put into it.”

Robinson said his father danced and was a square dancing teacher in Hitchins before he was born. Robinson began clogging about 18 years ago, when he started working at Commercial Bank of Grayson.

“A lady I worked with just said they were going to clogging class and said, ‘Why don’t you go with us?’ and so I did,” he said, adding he had always liked to dance and enjoyed clogging right away.

“At one time, there was eight of us at the bank who all clogged,” he said.

The Wizards of Dance is not a competitive dance group; Robinson said their goals are pleasure and exhibition.

“It’s good exercise and it’s something that different generations can do together,” Robinson said.

Wolfe agreed clogging can bring people together.

“The people like doing it, the ones that can do it,” she said of their audience. “Yeah, that’s what it’s all about, the people.”



For more information about the Wizards of Dance, call instructor Bill Robinson at (606) 474-4344.

LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.