THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9509290150
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Dazzlin' Image Cloggers clattered onto the dance floor at the third annual Town Point Clogging Classic in Norfolk and showed Hampton Roads a dance style radically different from the traditional Southern Appalachian clogging.
The seven members of the new Portsmouth-based team dressed in Olive Branch baseball uniforms, carried bats and gloves, and clogged their way through a rousing routine of ``Shoeless Joe,'' from the musical ``Damn Yankees.''
A quick costume change brought the team back in a clogging number with a rap sound and then into a freestyle routine that had the dancers performing lifts, spins and a variety of acrobatic moves along with intricate clogging steps to the country hit ``Baton Rouge.''
The unconventional routines were a few of the repertoire that had earned Dazzlin' Image the overall grand champion prize at the Mid-Atlantic regional clogging competition in Maryland last month.
``We are the only clogging team in the area moving into a new competitive emphasis,'' Kelly Bowen, the team's director and choreographer, said. Bowen added that his team is concentrating primarily on show routines and precision line dancing rather than the traditional hoedown style of clogging that is more closely akin to square dancing.
There is, however, more than just unique choreography that sets this team apart. Most noticeably, Dazzlin' Image looks a little different because the dancers are likely to appear wearing sequins and fringe rather than the traditional ruffles and petticoats.
They sound a little different too because they wear Steven Stompers, dance shoes with movable double taps on both the heel and toe.
They also move differently because Dazzlin' Image has gone beyond the traditional single lick and shuffle steps and is continually experimenting with the buck style of dance.
``With the original buck style dancing, it is all heel/toe that makes twice as much sound than the flat foot style and sounds a lot like tap,'' Bowen explained.
Krista Falls, a 24-year-old graduate student from Hampton, belongs to a traditional clogging team in Newport News but travels to Portsmouth several times a week to practice and perform with the Portsmouth team. After clogging for 17 years, she wanted the challenge of learning buck dancing.
Like Falls, the other Dazzlin' Image dancers are young, ranging in age from 14 to just 26, but they share a combined total of more than 90 years experience in clogging. Several of the dancers started clogging before they started school.
Charlene Bowen, 15, a sophomore at Portsmouth Christian School, remembers watching clogging groups entertain at car shows from the time she was 4 years old.
``I would clamber up on the stage and try to clog along with them,'' she said. Kelly Bowen, no relation to Charlene, is 21 and an elementary schoolteacher in Portsmouth. He has been clogging for 15 years and has attended workshops all over the country refining his buck dancing and choreography skills.
The Dazzlin' Image dancers have accumulated dozens of individual trophies and awards and several of the team have been named to various All American clogging teams.
``They are clogging driven,'' Bowen said, adding that his team thrives on competition.
Bowen explained that precision clogging, where each dancer's feet, heads, arms and bodies are moving in exact unison, is the key to winning clogging competitions.
Precision clogging and buck dancing seem to be more appealing to younger dancers. They also rank as Bowen's personal favorites and are the reason he organized the new team.
Dazzlin' Image team members come from Hampton, Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth and are seeking new members, experienced young cloggers who would like to learn buck dancing.
For beginners, Chesapeake Parks and Recreation is offering two series of basic clogging classes. At Western Branch Community Center, Kelly Bowen will teach clogging on Friday nights, starting Oct. 6, from 7 to 8 p.m. At the old Indian River Community Center classes will be held on Wednesday nights, starting Oct. 4, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The eight-week class fee is $20. For more information, call Chris Robinson, Chesapeake Parks and Recreation, 436-8466.
For more information about Dazzlin' Image Cloggers exhibitions, workshops or performances call Bowen at 488-9584 or Kathy Shultz at 484-0134. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by VICKI CRONIS
Dazzlin' Image Cloggers performed under a tent at Town Point Park in
Norfolk during Ribfest.
by CNB