Clog Dance (1959) | BFI National Archive

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
  • “An impromptu expression of enjoyment” - the revival of clog dancing in Portmadoc and of the craft of clog-making.
    This video is part of the Orphan Works collection. When the rights-holder for a film cannot be found, that film is classified as an Orphan Work. Find out more about Orphan Works: ec.europa.eu/in.... This is in line with the EU Orphan Works Directive of 2012. The results of our search for the rights holder of this film can be found in the EU Orphan Works Database: euipo.europa.e....
    Subscribe: bit.ly/subscrib....
    Watch more on the BFI Player: player.bfi.org.uk/
    Follow us on Twitter: / bfi
    Like us on Facebook: / britishfilminstitute
    Follow us on Google+: plus.google.co...

Комментарии • 1,2 тыс.

  • @francescadixon2584
    @francescadixon2584 3 года назад +316

    I've read the comments below and there seems to be a lot of confusion that clogging is just Celtic. Clogging and folk dancing is common all across the British Isles. Clogs were ordinary British peoples' everyday shoes, so learning to dance in them was quite natural and when the ordinary Britons went to America they took their dancing style and shoes with them. Luckily that dancing has survived in the Appalachians where it was raised to new heights. Each country within the UK had its own style of dancing even down to different regions and they happily shared and learnt from each other. Let's not try to split and try to claim clogging as specific to one area or one ethnic group. Let's enjoy it.

    • @jackx4311
      @jackx4311 3 года назад +28

      Well said, Francesca!

    • @musicloverlondon6070
      @musicloverlondon6070 2 года назад +20

      Great comment and fascinating video. These little gems are what make YT such a wonderful library of cultural history.

    • @marcphelan9883
      @marcphelan9883 Год назад +13

      Not just people from British Isles and Britain's, but the Irish and people from the Irish Isles, but of course its mostly an Irish influence where all forms of set dancing Sean nos dancing, and Irish dance are still going strong and haven't died out like they have in Britain

    • @j.503
      @j.503 Год назад +18

      ​@@marcphelan9883 "The British Isles" usually includes Ireland.

    • @marcphelan9883
      @marcphelan9883 Год назад +10

      @@j.503 if you're a British imperialist it does

  • @jimbradshaw
    @jimbradshaw 3 года назад +110

    I love how these films were made with such care, patience and attention to detail - no hurrying, no 'that's 3 minutes, let's move on' that's so commonplace today. And, of course, this example was just pure joy to watch.

    • @gillesguillaumin6603
      @gillesguillaumin6603 10 месяцев назад +5

      We can call it ”the good old time”.😊😊😊😊😊😊😅😊😊

    • @Feeoryne
      @Feeoryne 10 месяцев назад +4

      This type of documentary reminds me of Mr Rogers!! (in a very good way)

    • @margueritemurphy1884
      @margueritemurphy1884 2 месяца назад

      I don't find much of that "3 minutes and move on" attitude I have to say!

  • @marksadventures3889
    @marksadventures3889 3 года назад +32

    Clog dancing was very popular in the local mills, mines and Weaving Sheds of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

    • @henryb160
      @henryb160 Год назад +1

      Cumbria too.

    • @JelMain
      @JelMain Год назад +1

      @@henryb160 Cumbria was once part of Wales, when Mercia, Wessex and Kent were England. Anglia was Saxon, ie Fresian, and has it's own clog heritage, closely tied to seafaring, although rarely worn aboard, too slippery. The Bretons also have a celtic clog heritage.

    • @henryb160
      @henryb160 Год назад

      @@JelMain Yes, I know.

    • @spudspuddy
      @spudspuddy 7 месяцев назад +2

      my mum was irish but went to live in lancashire, she wore clogs to work in the 40s

  • @patrickfoley4990
    @patrickfoley4990 6 лет назад +119

    Thanks to all the young boys and girls for the wonderful clogging.

  • @kyoglesage
    @kyoglesage 5 лет назад +43

    Very much enjoyed this film. I was about 12 - the same age as these Welsh kids - at the time the film was made. I watched to the end and was surprised to see my cousin - Alan McCabe - was the camera operator. He went on to have a productive career in Hollywood and was one of the camera operators for The Charge of the Light Brigade.

    • @JelMain
      @JelMain Год назад +3

      He'd be welcome back here now. They started expanding Borehamwood and Elstree three years ago, and so were up and rolling when the Hollywood strike started. It's nor really strikebusting when the companies concerned aren't part of the American film industry because they're an online medium, use a far older acting heritage than Hollywood, and have different legal and contractual forms.

    • @annieclaire2348
      @annieclaire2348 28 дней назад

      How fascinating is that!!!! Amazing.

  • @sharonallen6921
    @sharonallen6921 3 года назад +56

    I thought this might be boring. Boy was I wrong. Beautifully done, respectful, intelligent and timeless. I had never heard the history of clogging or that it existed anywhere in the world beyond the eastern states of the US. Many Irish, Welsh and German people helped build the US and they shared with us many beautiful dances, songs and cultures, among other things. My life is blessed because people were brave and decided to make a new life in a far away land. This is coming from a Native American who appreciates the cultures and gifts given by other people to shape us into 1 United States of America. ~Sherrie in South Carolina

    • @STScott-qo4pw
      @STScott-qo4pw 2 года назад +4

      in western canada it is said native children learn how to "jig" before they walk. the jig: mainly scots-irish, pipes (rarely), fiddles, drums. i've seen teenaged native canadians jig and am astounded at the sight - it's as if you really can't see their feet move, they are simply there.

    • @annedeline4421
      @annedeline4421 11 месяцев назад +1

      Wish we could teach our teenagers this wonderful dance!

    • @pipfox7834
      @pipfox7834 10 месяцев назад +1

      @annedeline4421 where there a will, there's a way! You'd be surprised who will come forward to help when you put the word out, and make a start!

  • @ТатьянаСизикова-ю7ч
    @ТатьянаСизикова-ю7ч 10 месяцев назад +11

    Люблю народные танцы. В них душа народа.

  • @timjones7547
    @timjones7547 3 года назад +96

    I was 13 in 1959. The world has changed a great deal since then. No overweight kids! Great video of a time gone by.

    • @joedempsey9554
      @joedempsey9554 Год назад +8

      stilll plenty of clogging in the USA

    • @2394Joseph
      @2394Joseph 11 месяцев назад +5

      13 in 1959 makes you and all your friends 1946 war babies. 1946 was a time of rationing and food shortages. No wonder there was "no overweight kids".

    • @maggiegarber246
      @maggiegarber246 10 месяцев назад +6

      I was 11. There were only 2 overweight children in my high school, out of about 250 students. We walked or rode bikes everywhere. There were no fast food places in my small hometown.

    • @daydays12
      @daydays12 3 месяца назад +1

      Me too! 13 in 1959. Living near Plymouth Devon.

    • @ritagallard2179
      @ritagallard2179 3 месяца назад

      No? You must have been blind and deaf to have neither seen or joined in with the bullying and teasing.

  • @SmutchyBritches
    @SmutchyBritches 5 лет назад +117

    I used to clog when my boys were very young and got them clogging, too. Doing things like this with your children is clean fun and keeps them out of the wrong crowds.

    • @deborahbarry8458
      @deborahbarry8458 3 года назад +5

      I 🇨🇦 would love love to learn to clog with you!

    • @getthegoods420
      @getthegoods420 3 года назад

      If you try to do that now days, someone gonna ask what set you claim foo cryp walking like that n shit cuz
      sawhooo !!!!

    • @jonahchiro2609
      @jonahchiro2609 2 года назад

      I read this as “I used to clog with my boys”

  • @mfrmll3786
    @mfrmll3786 5 лет назад +34

    In 1966, I sang in a children's choir at the Llangollen Eistedfod and we all adored being part of that global singing and dancing competition. Helen Litz from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada brought us there. We were hosted in the town of Pennycae (spelling?) in 200 year old houses with roof tops that were extremely old and looked as though they could collapse.....I fell HARD in LOVE with Welch culture and music and left my heart and soul in those green and purple hillsides, with the woolly sheep and their lambs......Our beautiful hosts sang with us in the early freezing mornings. The bus driver was Welch .....Oh it was an incredible experience to compete there. Mrs. Litz donated the winning prize money to the Aberfan (SP?) town where a terrible mining accident took place, after the competition. We ate breakfasts there, I will never forget. THANK YOU.....I bought wooden clogs in Hastings, during that trip. And I owe a HUGE Debt of gratitude to Helen Litz for dedicating her life to the LOVE of MUSIC and Cultural Dance. I am so thrilled they are learning their language, still. My appreciation for music of the World remains immense. I KNOW what it is like to sing PURE music and what it does for the Spirit cannot be measured or understood by 90% of humanity, today. THANK YOU Wales.

    • @donnacameron4515
      @donnacameron4515 Год назад +2

      How lovely to read of your experience, from Roland Mb Canada

  • @anniehope8651
    @anniehope8651 Год назад +31

    As a (former) harpist I love this!
    I was a child/teenage harpist when there was no internet around yet. I always knew I didn't really like the classical way of playing I was learning. We had celtic harps as children and of course we played some folk-like songs, but it was all just because those were relatively simple tunes. And we played from sheet music, all to prepare us to the pedal harp and to play in orchestras. I always knew I didn't want that. I wanted to play folk harp, even as a more advanced harpist. But these folk tunes were considered 'for children'. And I didn't know what true 'adult' folk harp looked like and sounded like. I heard about it, but I never knew how to really get into it. All I had was my teacher at the music school, a classical harp teacher. I went on to a pedal harp, because that was what you were supposed to do as an advanced player, but I never truly liked it, and eventually I quit when I was about 22.
    Now seeing this video, I finally know that this is what I was looking for back then. True folk, meant to dance to, played by an adult. If only I knew back then...

    • @IRELAND_MY_LOVE
      @IRELAND_MY_LOVE 9 месяцев назад +1

      Great post. It would be ideal if more real musicians felt the same way as you since we seem to be listening to the same thump nowadays.

  • @albertreed966
    @albertreed966 5 лет назад +167

    Today is the 3 of May, 2019. I watched this with much nostalgia, if that's the proper word. I couldn't help but think of the more simplistic days of My youth,(I am 73) and the speed down the tracks hell bent for leather life we have today. The only ex time is exercise that the much younger generation gets in the present day is in their thumbs. I propose that in the gathering places...few left, we put small kiosk's that would place scenes such as this to remind or perhaps for the first time, show how life used to be and doesn't have to be lost. Alas, I dream!

    • @VerbranntiChaib1
      @VerbranntiChaib1 5 лет назад +3

      Yes we should build a kiosk We need to regain that has been lost within us.
      And build a shelter of wood and stone.

    • @jackmorgan8931
      @jackmorgan8931 5 лет назад +11

      Hey, Albert...
      Today is 06/06/19. I'll be 67 in a little less than two months. And it's a special day for me, 50 years since I graduated from high school. I went out of my first date that night. And when I took her home, before she got out of the car, she slid across the seat...and kissed me...my first kiss!
      You are so right, of course. It is the simplicity of life in what "old guys" like you and me those "good ol' days," for me, beginning in the '50s, that simply vanished. And there is no going back.
      You stay safe and take care of yourself.

    • @cliffc2546
      @cliffc2546 4 года назад +1

      This documentary is actually really beautiful, even if a bit hokey. As time goes on, it gets even better.

    • @robertbrawley5048
      @robertbrawley5048 4 года назад

      Reading your comment on the 6th of May 2020

    • @chetyoubetya8565
      @chetyoubetya8565 4 года назад +1

      Rubbish there was never a simple day.It was that things were never dealt with or spoken about.Ignorance is only bliss when you choose it to be.

  • @nigelsheppard625
    @nigelsheppard625 5 лет назад +25

    Clogging survives to this day throughout Wales. It's featured in both the Eisteddfod yr Urdd and Eisteddfod Cenedlaethol Cymru and amongst thousands of small groups in towns and villages.

  • @StephenNu9
    @StephenNu9 6 лет назад +69

    Wow, I've never seen that wood shaping tool anywhere. Dam clever, particularly on soft wood.

    • @TheMariemarie16
      @TheMariemarie16 5 лет назад +10

      So many forms of art are becoming lost. I would love a future that incorporated new technology with a very back to the earth living style where artisan pursuits are just as valuable as high tech ones.

    • @michaelkullas2031
      @michaelkullas2031 3 года назад +4

      Alder is still one of the hardwoods. Furniture etc.
      The blades he is using are very sharp. Original miter boxes for cutting house trim were much the same. A lost technology.

  • @pennywaters2740
    @pennywaters2740 3 года назад +19

    wonderful film - i remember when this country was like this with all these kind grown ups - i bought a pair of shoe clogs when i was 24 (1973) in lancaster market from the man who made them - the most comfortable pair of shoes i have ever worn - made by a craftsman - the modern world is not a patch on those good days - and the people in lancaster were as wonderful

  • @rredhawk
    @rredhawk 5 лет назад +6

    Looks very similar to the Appalachian dances performed here in the USA which no doubt originated in the UK and were brought over here by colonists and immigrants many years earlier.

  • @AML2000
    @AML2000 6 лет назад +101

    Porthmadog (the official spelling now) is in the north of Wales. Even today, 75% of the population are Welsh speaking, so the kids here probably had Welsh as their first language. The result of that is that when they speak English it resembles upper class English with a Welsh musical lilt, because they learn it in school. The teacher had a very mild Welsh accent.

    • @nocilantro_gack
      @nocilantro_gack 5 лет назад +16

      The Welsh accent is the best..I lived in Swansea and it took me a while to get used to some of the real hardcore speakers there..I hope they keep that language alive

    • @duckweedy
      @duckweedy 5 лет назад +10

      Go back now and they are speaking Welsh in the streets and the shops.

    • @deborahbarry8458
      @deborahbarry8458 3 года назад +6

      @@duckweedy what joy that many of the languages that were once dying are making a comeback!

    • @peterwilson3161
      @peterwilson3161 3 года назад

      “9

    • @WildwoodTV
      @WildwoodTV 3 года назад +3

      When my mum was young it was still frowned on to speak Welsh except at home... maybe at chapel

  • @gunnarbiker
    @gunnarbiker 4 года назад +32

    The Geico commercial brought me here! LOL
    What a treasure this video is!

    • @katiesprague1476
      @katiesprague1476 3 года назад +2

      I'm not usually a fan of commercials, but that one makes me smile every time I see it.

    • @brittnar
      @brittnar 3 года назад +1

      I love that ad

    • @Pteromandias
      @Pteromandias 3 года назад

      What does this have to do with a Geico commercial?

  • @niteowl365
    @niteowl365 5 лет назад +171

    You can see the relation to the Appalachian clogging - neato!

    • @rayniemi5864
      @rayniemi5864 5 лет назад +4

      niteowl365 I was just thinking that same thing!

    • @Automedon2
      @Automedon2 5 лет назад +34

      The Appalachians derived from Scots Irish and all the Celtic dancing styles are related.

    • @willyspinney1959
      @willyspinney1959 5 лет назад +3

      Very interesting.

    • @rogerc.roberts4705
      @rogerc.roberts4705 5 лет назад +28

      @@Automedon2 Technically not correct. The Gaelic Celts use "soft" soles which flex and solid soles which are a bit different then. "ours". The Cymrieg use only hard soles which prevent the foot from flexing, thus the limited heal and toe tapping. Surprised the video did not mention WHY the solid wood clog soles?
      Back in the early days of the industrial revolution Cymru, at first, saw more industry move in/develop then most of the rest of the British Isles. People seeking employment came from all over Cymru seeking work in the southern valley. That introduced the varied local dancing styles to people whose homes were elsewhere ( in Cymru). When they had a chance to go home the newly learned dance styles went with them.
      But why clogs? #1 SIMPLE, a good many of the jobs meant working in a damp or wet environment. Flexible leather soles would rot due to the water, wood soles did not. So flexibility of the feet was traded for dryer feet. #2 And let's face it, no one had several pairs of shoes in their closet, and that led to clog dancing.
      Other clog dancing moves such as the use of a broom were more common in Cymru then Ireland and Scottland. Dancing while holding the broom parallel to the ground with knees bent, as in Russia, was common to Cymru and not the Gaelic Celts. The dancing while "jumping the broom", as I understand, has more to do with the Brythonic Celts beliefs then of the Gaelic Celts.
      So of the Celts, whose dancing was picked up by the more modern "clog dancing" of the United Stars? Long argument.
      However, Canadian "step dancing" is mostly the clog dancing of Cymru AND what became tap dancing of the United States.
      Why? When the Brutish, er British, tried to force the Accadains out of Canada those people fled into the hills where they mixed with the Irish, Scots, and Cymru who had as much "dislike" for the English as the French. Cultures were altered(?)
      A large bit of my knowledge on the subject of clog dancing came with the chance to mix with a band of Accadains known as Barachois out of Prince Edward Island who would come down and perform at Celtic Festivals in the States.
      While watching them dance I could not help but see a connection with the clog dancing (NOT "CLOGGING") of Cymru. Other factors came out as I don't know anything about the Accadains but we somehow seemed to be "neighbors".
      In this case it turns out the 2nd largest minority of people in Prince Edward Island are the CYMRIEG!

    • @frankpallister
      @frankpallister 5 лет назад +9

      @@rogerc.roberts4705 clogs and the industrial revolution began in northern England

  • @Marcygr
    @Marcygr 3 года назад +4

    lost art, the clog maker. Hope the dancing continues. Forever.

  • @wallyboy6666
    @wallyboy6666 5 лет назад +176

    I loved this video so much :)
    Thank you for sharing it.
    I live in the United States (Pennsylvania), but videos like this can transcend oceans, borders, borders & time, to share life experiences.
    It sure makes me miss the times gone by & traditions that have almost vanished. This was a joy to watch.
    Thank you! :)

    • @brentwoodbay
      @brentwoodbay 5 лет назад +15

      Pennsylvania was once the 'Welshiest' US state. Look at all the Welsh place name surrounding Philly. That area, IIRC known as the Welsh Tract, had the heaviest concentration of Welsh Immigration in the US.

    • @freedomatlast8756
      @freedomatlast8756 5 лет назад +5

      I used to live in South Western Pennsylvania.

    • @wallyboy6666
      @wallyboy6666 5 лет назад +6

      @@freedomatlast8756
      Wasn't sure if you were replying to me or gelli :)
      How long did you live in Pennsylvania? It is a very pretty state. I live more towards Cook Forest area.
      Used to be a popular fishing and hunting area - not so much anymore. During the first week of trout fishing, it was hard to drive down the roads around here - cars parked on the sides of the roads, people carrying fishing pools, coolers, canoes, walking in all different directions. A driver had to be very careful because they were all concentrating on vacation, camping & fishing - people darting back & forth, not watching their kids ... but, they were all having a good time :)

    • @pennyparaskevas7831
      @pennyparaskevas7831 4 года назад +10

      I'm from Chicago, but met a "long-lost cousin" in Wales two years ago. To say I love Wales would be an understatement! Can't wait to return to that magical place.

    • @larscain3263
      @larscain3263 3 года назад +4

      I am 2nd generation welsh from Pottsville penna near the welshest city in the USA. Mount pleasant and didn’t realise how much it looked like wales until I went to Swansea

  • @jwwmitchell
    @jwwmitchell 6 лет назад +36

    It takes a lot of discipline and training to become this good. Sheer brill to watch !

  • @tweetiebirdin-pdx645
    @tweetiebirdin-pdx645 5 лет назад +53

    Fabulous video, thanks for the history lesson.

  • @bassmeisterD
    @bassmeisterD 3 года назад +6

    Clogging is part of the tradition of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the U.S. It can be seen at festivals and fairs around the south. I did not know it came from Wales.

    • @Bella-fz9fy
      @Bella-fz9fy 2 года назад +3

      It came from English and Welsh immigrants to there.It was incredibly popular in England but then has died out so much.Even Bob Hope and Stan Laurel (real name Stan Jefferson)were part of clogging groups when they went to America!

  • @ernestberry-songsrestored5637
    @ernestberry-songsrestored5637 3 года назад +3

    I cried with laughter, joy and a deep sense of loss

  • @alisonwunderland9900
    @alisonwunderland9900 5 лет назад +272

    Not a car in sight - wonderful...

    • @antonkider7360
      @antonkider7360 5 лет назад +4

      Oh, only one in the main street.

    • @chickenmanedbrown8054
      @chickenmanedbrown8054 5 лет назад +8

      I didn't see nobody with a cell phone either

    • @joan7823
      @joan7823 5 лет назад +2

      I thought I saw one just at the end of the film? ,behind the wagon. About 14.45?

    • @Jonascord
      @Jonascord 4 года назад +6

      No money, no industry, food rationed, yeah, just effen spiffy...

    • @Dr.VonBraun
      @Dr.VonBraun 4 года назад +1

      Several cars insight. Get yer eyeballs checked. ;)

  • @ttaibe
    @ttaibe 6 лет назад +216

    I wonder if these people featured here realised that people would still be watching them dance and so on 60 odd years later.. These were the days before video tapes etc. They might have only seen this once or twice themselves.

    • @StephenRBeet
      @StephenRBeet 5 лет назад +26

      Yes, and I wonder how many are alive. The kids must be in their 70's now!

    • @eduardobraivein8496
      @eduardobraivein8496 5 лет назад +22

      A priceless treasure! A testament for future generation!

    • @davecan1103
      @davecan1103 5 лет назад +24

      Sure they did. But they figured we'd be watching it on ducane model 600 16 mm projector... they would have thought you were crazy if you'd have told them you'd be watching it on a phone. Lol!

    • @wayinfront1
      @wayinfront1 4 года назад +19

      @elmosmidlap : Do you mind? I'm at least 5 years older than the youngest boy in that video - he can't be more than 10. And Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are at least 2 years older than me! So eff off ( 'scuse my Welsh)!

    • @davidgm1000
      @davidgm1000 3 года назад +1

      @@wayinfront1 was the comment you are referring to deleted? if so pity, not least cos when fo!llowing your 'excused welsh,' there was no mention of taking comment with him when doing so - but there you go, or rather, there goes elmosmidlap, cheers

  • @marineHumanitoo7139
    @marineHumanitoo7139 10 месяцев назад +3

    A nice breath of fresh air, what talent!
    They all exude the joy of living. Thank you very much for this video !

  • @pronkerpronker6708
    @pronkerpronker6708 3 года назад +7

    Utterly charming in subject and photography, thanks for posting!

  • @learntocrochet1
    @learntocrochet1 6 лет назад +228

    Ahh I hope that master clog maker taught someone well as I'm sure he has passed by now. It would be a shame for this trade to disappear.

    • @franktoledo9356
      @franktoledo9356 5 лет назад +12

      CLOG SHOES MADE BETTER THAN TODAY'S.

    • @arctichare8185
      @arctichare8185 5 лет назад +6

      This video serves to pass it along.

    • @FoodNerds
      @FoodNerds 4 года назад +8

      I sister had a pair of wooden clogs. She loved them and wore them for years.

    • @karinlerew6542
      @karinlerew6542 4 года назад +11

      I watch this video and it does remind me of simpler times: not times where you had nothing to do. Just times that didn’t fill up your day with empty things. It makes my memories as a child seem that much richer!

    • @pennyk2798
      @pennyk2798 3 года назад +5

      I'd have had only 8 fingers left it were me being the clog maker. 8 fingers at max.

  • @keithdonnellan5564
    @keithdonnellan5564 3 года назад +3

    Nice to see old things that bring back memories!

  • @frankwilkinson6328
    @frankwilkinson6328 3 года назад +5

    Thanks for this. Porthmadog has changed a bit but not that much. One of my favourite places in Wales but then all Wales has a place in my heart.

  • @sharonneethling7778
    @sharonneethling7778 5 лет назад +56

    This is incredible . and so interesting. .Thank you for sharing with us

  • @blmi5591
    @blmi5591 3 года назад +10

    Story how the Russian sailors taught the Welsh sailors to dance Cossack style. Funny enough that it is only for men to dance this Cossack way, but Welsh girls decided that they should do it too. Crazy.

  • @shelski4218
    @shelski4218 5 лет назад +117

    Simple Times, great fun, 1959 was a great time it really really was!! I wish there was time travel I'd go back to that time and stay there 😃👍❤️

    • @lendaly294
      @lendaly294 5 лет назад +11

      @Big Bill O'Reilly Saddo

    • @schifahrer123
      @schifahrer123 5 лет назад +20

      @Big Bill O'Reilly People like you represent all that is wrong with the world.

    • @davidh9844
      @davidh9844 5 лет назад +8

      I had a great time in 1959 - I was 9 years old at the time. And no, I don't remember ANYTHING being even remotely like this!

    • @Cola64
      @Cola64 4 года назад +4

      I bet you couldve drank the water straight from that river

    • @trimule
      @trimule 4 года назад +9

      @@Cola64 Well friend, you would have been deathly sick within 24 hrs. Remember this was before there were any health considerations for industrial pollution. The coal mines and Railroads in South Wales were dumping chemical filth by the ton onto the hillsides to wash straight down into the rivers. About this time one of those slag heap mountains collapsed and buried a school killing many children. One of the worst domestic tragedies ever in the UK.

  • @mcbeeze
    @mcbeeze 5 лет назад +6

    Which is why clogging was so popular in Northern Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee because the greatest portion of the settlers there were Scottish and Irish (with some Germans and English thrown in). it is extremely an interesting form of dance where ever it is!

    • @wallyboy6666
      @wallyboy6666 5 лет назад +2

      :) You've described my family perfectly :)
      My Mother's side is Scottish & Irish :) My Father's is German. They all settled in the Appalachian mountains & foothills of Pennsylvania. Grandpa (Mom's Dad) was a coal miner - died of Black Lung.
      Family gatherings and reunions (when I was very young) were so much fun - the air was filled with fiddles & banjos ... sack races, games of horseshoe, penny pitches, (to raise money for the next year's reunion), door prizes, seemingly endless amounts of food, homemade breads & jam, some even brought moonshine :) I have/had 37 first cousins on my Mother's side of the family, then all my Great Aunts & Uncles had large families, too. We all had wonderful times when we gathered for the reunions. So many attended that at times it felt like a fair. :)
      This video brought those memories back for some reason :)
      All of the older generation in my family is gone. Grandma & Grandpa's house was bought years ago & made into a camp.

  • @royjeffs6538
    @royjeffs6538 3 года назад +3

    Love the way he delivers the clogs!

    • @sheerluckholmes7720
      @sheerluckholmes7720 Год назад

      yeah-like chucking the rolled up newspapers back in the day ! 😂...plus while riding a bike 🤣...✌

  • @alfredlawrence3182
    @alfredlawrence3182 6 лет назад +74

    God bless them all. The UK meant something to the individual, the industries and the world in those days.

    • @Automedon2
      @Automedon2 5 лет назад +5

      The import of American trends hasn't done Britain a lot of good that's for sure.

    • @MTknitter22
      @MTknitter22 4 года назад +3

      Alfred Lawrence Wales such a special place!

    • @MTknitter22
      @MTknitter22 4 года назад +1

      Gathering No Moss They gave us a few too that proved not so great. Its not all one country’s fault what has happened.

    • @cliffc2546
      @cliffc2546 4 года назад +2

      @@Automedon2 Oh, come on. You're implying the UK is some kind of victim. You know, the Beatles and Stones could be thought of as the beginning of the debauching the US, too. Culturally, the US is always 5 to 10 years behind the UK, IMO.

    • @buddyduddyful
      @buddyduddyful 3 года назад +2

      @@Automedon2 Americans were essentially English in 1959 and even now to a lesser degree, since the push for white erasure.

  • @nancyhobson9710
    @nancyhobson9710 5 лет назад +3

    Loved the Clog Dance. Simple rural lifestyle

  • @sheikowi
    @sheikowi 5 лет назад +29

    Terrific! Clog survived longer in Appalachia, but with less "low" dancing. Wonder why.

    • @OrganisedPauper
      @OrganisedPauper 5 лет назад +8

      There's Cornish and Lancashire clogging/clog dancing too I believe.

    • @ohmyblindman
      @ohmyblindman 4 года назад +6

      The Appalachian region is very remote, with few people coming and going, therefore the communities are rather insulated. Even to today there is no cell phone service into the more remove "hollers.'

  • @g.a.c.4139
    @g.a.c.4139 4 года назад +14

    An amazing look at this culture. I like it, but you can see that today's world (especially kids) would have barely supported this lifestyle That why River Dance, and other groups like it, was so critical in rekindling this art form, and the World loved it. I think this dancing will live forever.

  • @walteralter9061
    @walteralter9061 3 года назад +18

    Would be interesting to learn what effects this Welsh tradition had on Appalachian clog dancing in the US, particularly in the coal mining regions.

  • @jerryjones7293
    @jerryjones7293 3 года назад +2

    Amazing craftsmanship

  • @pleasedontwhipmemaster2353
    @pleasedontwhipmemaster2353 4 года назад +27

    When ever you have a clog in your sink just do the clog dance.

  • @meruliouslacrimens5154
    @meruliouslacrimens5154 3 года назад +6

    This has got to be the epitome of people having a really good time.

  • @imari2305
    @imari2305 3 года назад +3

    Reminds me of the clog dancing I'd seen growing up in South Carolina as a child. I love the art of dance and all its' varying styles.

  • @irinakhudyakova6985
    @irinakhudyakova6985 3 года назад +1

    Потрясающе! Это было совсем недавно! Где же ты , старая добрая Европа

  • @pjmbidge632000
    @pjmbidge632000 4 года назад +315

    My Mother was Welsh, but we lived in Manchester, one weekend we went to Porthmadog. Mum and I were looking around the shops, and a woman in one shop said to the shop owner ''Twristiaid gwaedlyd'' which means ''bloody tourists''! It was hilarious when my Mother turned round and railed at her in Welsh. The woman's mouth just dropped open and her face went scarlet!
    Miss you Mum RIP

    • @WaitingforGodot
      @WaitingforGodot 3 года назад +37

      Someone I know went through that in a pub in Wales. She sat and listened to her group being insulted and scorned for being tourists. As they got up to leave she turned and told them off in fluent Welsh and silenced the pub...... :)

    • @llewev
      @llewev 3 года назад +28

      Not always that way. We are Welsh and moved to live in England in the early sixties. We used to go back to Nefyn for holidays as the full English tourist family bit - beach, shoes, shorts, nylon kaguls for the rain, etc. One rainy afternoon, we went shopping in Pwllheli and as we trooped into a record shop, one of the assistants said, in Welsh, "Here come the English tourists". The other one said instantly "No, they're Welsh". (We had not spoken a word in any language). Must be something in the gait - or perhaps we seemed too much at home in the Gwynedd rain - anyway, no correction needed!.

    • @nikeshsolanki829
      @nikeshsolanki829 3 года назад +8

      She sounds like an absolute legend, good for her!

    • @janestreeter8570
      @janestreeter8570 3 года назад +4

      Served her right, too. Deserved anything your mother handed her and more. Besides, I not one bit of patience for people who want to make money off people they despise. Can't have it both ways. If you don't like tourists, stay away from the tourist traps. I don't like them either, people tend to leave their brains at home for some reason when they go on vacation. So, I stay away from places that attract the idiots. And there's a lot more tourist traps to dodge here than there, trust me on that . You people are lucky, you don't have to deal with places like Disney or Sea World or Six Flags...or the literal hundreds of little places scattered all over the 3,531,905 square miles of my nation. Of course, we told the British where to shove it, twice. Second time they got the point. We fought two wars to kick them out and make sure they stayed out. I'm an American and damned proud of it.

    • @susanolson3611
      @susanolson3611 3 года назад

      @@janestreeter8570 😎

  • @bethelshiloh
    @bethelshiloh 3 года назад +2

    So much forgotten history. And it’s amazing how blended traditions can become.

  • @ruthfreedman
    @ruthfreedman 3 года назад +4

    Beautiful. Only yesterday, I saw this in today’s version, in BBC’s “Escape to the Country” with the same dray horses and clog dancers. (Minus the shoemaker,
    And that delightful Welsh Harp.)

  • @AudreySmallcombe
    @AudreySmallcombe 10 месяцев назад +1

    Just beautiful! Everything about this film is wonderful! Thank you! X❤

  • @jom7604
    @jom7604 2 года назад +3

    My Great Grandparents we're Scotch-Irish and my Great Grandfather could clod dance incredibly. Miss him so! Had precious time with him until I was almost 11 yrs old. Boy could he dance. Maybe that's why my Mother became a professional dancer and then teacher. 🤩

    • @pipfox7834
      @pipfox7834 10 месяцев назад +1

      Lovely! Scots Irish is what I think you mean. Anything else refers to a bottle of whisky, LOL

  • @angeliquenomade4353
    @angeliquenomade4353 6 лет назад +32

    Magnifique ! !! Merci pour cette publication !

  • @richardyoung4616
    @richardyoung4616 5 лет назад +50

    If I were making those shoes I would be known as "3 finger Jack".

    • @Pro1er
      @Pro1er 5 лет назад +4

      No kidding! The first thing I did was to count his fingers! I started to close my eyes!

    • @Pro1er
      @Pro1er 5 лет назад +1

      No kidding! The first thing I did was to count his fingers! I started to close my eyes!

  • @charleswalker1185
    @charleswalker1185 3 года назад +3

    I had a friend who traveled in Europe doing clog, under the aegis of Mitt Romney...the stories were the best!

  • @elderlypoodle9181
    @elderlypoodle9181 5 лет назад +11

    I think Doc Martins should have wood on the soles! That cobbler was a master 🙏🏻

  • @Eyologist1
    @Eyologist1 5 лет назад +27

    What a total delight! The cottages, the manor houses! Are any of them still there? I want to go to Wales! (I guess I was just there!) Thank you for bringing this bit of real history back for us to enjoy!

    • @pipfox7834
      @pipfox7834 10 месяцев назад

      Yes, plenty of the old Welsh cottages and villages remain. In Europe history and cultural inheritance is valued, things aren't usually torn down randomly in the name of progress.

  • @sandyhendricks3120
    @sandyhendricks3120 4 года назад +2

    This is one of the best films I've ever seen on the Tube. Thanks so much for posting it.

  • @jurok6920
    @jurok6920 3 года назад +2

    Magnificently!

  • @pmzephyr22
    @pmzephyr22 3 года назад +6

    Fluellen: "does your majesty wear the leek on St.Davids day?" Henry V: "I wear it for a memorable honor, good my countryman."

  • @Donna-cc1kt
    @Donna-cc1kt Год назад +1

    So wonderful. Thank you. Interesting, entertaining, educational, winsome and a wish for a return for simple times.

  • @jimmygorman4641
    @jimmygorman4641 5 лет назад +6

    Absolutely brilliant,, a great pice oh history,, great to see,,

  • @TheAndrewMaggie
    @TheAndrewMaggie 4 года назад +1

    I recognize where the person was dancing over the broom. That’s amazing!

  • @ron6892
    @ron6892 Год назад +3

    My upstairs neighbours when I’m trying to sleep

  • @lammertink8162
    @lammertink8162 10 месяцев назад +4

    Какое чудесное время было тогда. Как жаль, что время нельзя повернуть вспять. И камера запечатлела, как маленький мальчик на репетиции путал правую и левую ноги, как на концерте он тоже перепутал ноги и стоял сконфуженный , надувая щеки )))) Золотое время ...

  • @petercallaghan9851
    @petercallaghan9851 6 лет назад +2

    George struck gold! She's beautiful.

  • @highcotton63664
    @highcotton63664 5 лет назад +21

    These kids are way cooler than the kids of today's generation. Great video.

    • @Donna-cc1kt
      @Donna-cc1kt Год назад

      Ya know, I agree. Today we have boring kids staring at their cell phones. Sorry but useless.

    • @spanqueluv9er
      @spanqueluv9er Год назад

      @@Donna-cc1kt Ok boomer.🤡🤡🤦‍♂️🙄🤷‍♂️

    • @spanqueluv9er
      @spanqueluv9er Год назад

      @highcotton63664 Incorrect.💩🤦‍♂️

  • @Boppip
    @Boppip 3 года назад +2

    Now I want some clogs and I want to learn clog dancing!

  • @geniemeadows5122
    @geniemeadows5122 6 лет назад +47

    Hot Welsh cakes and melting butter wow what a treat haha. The cossack dancing would have been hard.

    • @nannyogg2586
      @nannyogg2586 5 лет назад +3

      My Gramma used to make the best Welsh cakes ever. I still make Bara Brith to her recipe and it's LUSH.

    • @ChrisJones-ij3xp
      @ChrisJones-ij3xp 5 лет назад +2

      My mother makes the best Welsh cakes. Always currants- NEVER raisins! I've been at teas where there were raisins in the Welsh cakes, and so I passed them over.

    • @mrdiplomat9018
      @mrdiplomat9018 5 лет назад +3

      You Really need to be in shape to do that type of dancing ‼️🎯🍺

    • @stanibol
      @stanibol 3 года назад +2

      I felt that the cossack moves didn't quite fit their dance routine. Just my opinion fwiw.

  • @florences2153
    @florences2153 3 года назад +1

    C'est merveilleux et quelque souplesse!

  • @hollygolightly8048
    @hollygolightly8048 3 года назад +1

    omg.......people actually communicating with one another face-to-face!

  • @littlebrookreader949
    @littlebrookreader949 3 года назад +2

    I loved this!

  • @janethampton9089
    @janethampton9089 3 года назад +1

    George was still doing his version of clog... Dance your little heart out! If it don't hurt anyone... Be happy, & U can never do no wrong! Thank you George! You make me smile:)

  • @carolynsilvers9999
    @carolynsilvers9999 3 года назад +1

    I would love to have a pair of these wooden clogs.

  • @zelphx
    @zelphx 5 лет назад +488

    Society has become what it is at the price of losing activities like this for the kids. Tech is strangling culture.

    • @rodmcdonald4707
      @rodmcdonald4707 5 лет назад +9

      My dad laminated the same sentiments regarding "Rock & Roll".

    • @lisahinton9682
      @lisahinton9682 5 лет назад +19

      @@rodmcdonald4707 do you mean "lamented"?

    • @esmeraldagreen1992
      @esmeraldagreen1992 5 лет назад +4

      Have you ever heard of libraries

    • @daisymayer6102
      @daisymayer6102 5 лет назад +11

      Tech is the new culture. Though, I agree that a more organic lifestyle would benefit today's youth.

    • @taunteratwill1787
      @taunteratwill1787 5 лет назад +12

      @Lisa Hinton No his father 'laminates' everything. Even his sentiments! :-)

  • @pablpfanque
    @pablpfanque 3 года назад +1

    I remember clogs from the 70's. Leather uppers, wooden soles. I knew of clogging from Appalachia. This ties it together.

  • @joannevargas9638
    @joannevargas9638 3 года назад +1

    That was precious!

  • @lohphat
    @lohphat 6 лет назад +80

    Is this what kids did before there were Play Stations?

    • @CollectingCardboard
      @CollectingCardboard 5 лет назад +2

      Yeah! I heard there's a new game coming out for PS4 - *Clogging the Welch countryside* - Sept. 2019!! I just locked up my pre-order!

    • @willyspinney1959
      @willyspinney1959 5 лет назад +8

      @@CollectingCardboard That's great, and while you are waiting for it to arrive, maybe you can spend some time brushing up your spelling.

    • @CollectingCardboard
      @CollectingCardboard 5 лет назад +3

      @@willyspinney1959 Firstly, I'd like to take a moment to thank you for WASTING MY TIME! Secondly, I CHALLENGE YOU,..."genius" (said in the most obnoxious way, possible!) to point out the spelling error that you so obtusely, reference!?! Lastly,...now that I've broken the rules of RUclips Park and went ahead and....FED THE TROLL(S), kindly go ahead and crawl back into your hole until it's time for your next feeding.

    • @gregdolecki8530
      @gregdolecki8530 5 лет назад +7

      Mostly my kids just clog the toilet.

    • @willyspinney1959
      @willyspinney1959 5 лет назад +3

      @@CollectingCardboard How about the spelling of Welsh?

  • @HappySunshineDay
    @HappySunshineDay 4 года назад +2

    What a gift that this lovely lady sought to help keep alive an old traditional dance style in her area. This film was made in 1959, the year before I was born> In the early 1970s I was taught a little American Square dancing (with barely a nod to its roots in other lands.) In the mid 1990's a wonderful stage show called Riverdance became a sensation across the globe. This is from Wiki about it Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval performance act during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean Butler, Michael Flatley and the vocal ensemble Anúna. Shortly afterwards, husband and wife production team John McColgan and Moya Doherty expanded it into a stage show, which opened in Dublin on 9 February 1995. Since then, the show has visited over 450 venues worldwide and been seen by over 25 million people, making it one of the most successful dance productions in the world.[1]

  • @TxgrlnGa
    @TxgrlnGa 6 лет назад +13

    How amazing! ❤️

  • @СветланаКолчанова-ь9п

    Прелестный фильм!

  • @craffte
    @craffte 6 лет назад +5

    The Arnold Rimmer in me has officially come out this evening.

  • @majajh
    @majajh 4 года назад +2

    I love woodworking, but never heard of these tools. This too is, "Gone with the Wind".

  • @joshuaharvey4116
    @joshuaharvey4116 3 года назад +2

    Was trying to find a solution to a clogged drain and this video popped up.

  • @fordprefect4345
    @fordprefect4345 7 месяцев назад +3

    I thought I was watching Monty Python for a minute then I realised they were serious

  • @joan9569
    @joan9569 5 лет назад +2

    The knowledge of historical dance, or anything else, isn't lost, but will be if there isn't a proper appreciation of it. It's the sense of community, of belonging to a culture, a way of life, that is being lost, & the joy that goes with it. I think, what is more fun, the watching, & participating in things like this, or seeing a bunch of kids, each with his own video game, not interacting with each other, but each in his own little, separate world?

  • @kennyscott1089
    @kennyscott1089 5 лет назад +1

    Very good. An absolute pleasure to watch.

  • @Automedon2
    @Automedon2 5 лет назад +7

    The kids are now older than the clog maker was

  • @magdahearne497
    @magdahearne497 3 года назад +1

    Brilliant video, thanks for sharing 💖

  • @tubemagpie
    @tubemagpie 6 лет назад +55

    I think that there are several things that need to be straightened out here. South Wales is not the only region of the British Isles where step dancing in clogs was extant. The Northeast of England and the Northwest are the homes of several distinct styles. And here I must point out that most of the music and dance of Appalachia has its origins in England.... besides the clog dancing traditions there are stepping traditions from other (rural) areas of Britain, Devon (Dartmoor) Norfolk (including the fishermen's dances) Suffolk, Sussex. These dances were danced in shoes.... maybe in earlier days in clogs, who knows?
    It has been said that everywhere in the English speaking world there are/were traditions of step dancing.
    Bringing in Scotland : Stepping from Fife... mind you Scotland appears to have lost most of its hard shoe dances... there isa tradition of stepping from Cape Breton Island which stems from Scotland as far as I know (there are examples on RUclips)
    Where to next? Tap dancing? I have seen and heard claims that , variously, this items from Native American Dancing and that it is purely African American.... things are not that simple... if one watches film of Bojangles Robinson then one can see that his tap dancing has its roots firmly in British (English even) clog dancing.... the late same Sherry (q.v.) observed that Bojangles style "was Pure clog"... Sam was both a clog dancer and a tap dancer....
    It is not true to say that Tap is an African American dance taken over by white men such as Fred Astaire and so forth..... in fact both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were taught by Ann, the daughter of Jack Liscombe who was teaching clog dancing back in the 19th Century/early 20th century......
    And we haven't even mentioned traditional Irish dancing... some traditions of which match step for step some English traditions.......
    The whole picture of step dancing is complex and one of cross fertilization.... as is that of so much traditional music and dance.
    Earliest record of a clog dance (possibly).... 1691 there is mention of The Lancashire Hornpipe being danced.... and those dancers probably wore wooden soled shoes.. i.e. clogs

    • @deborahkelly1489
      @deborahkelly1489 6 лет назад +3

      tubemagpie my dance instructor, ( she was 60 ) was a student of Bojangles Robinson. I had the pleasure to learn from her the Bojangles style dancing. This was 50 years ago . I taught his style as well, until I had to stop due to health issues. At that point I went into nursing ( had to make a living ) but still have my shoes .

    • @SpeegBJ
      @SpeegBJ 6 лет назад +2

      Yes, it's complex...the history of clog, step, hard shoe.

    • @MatthewOlwell
      @MatthewOlwell 6 лет назад +5

      Yeah, super complex process of blending styles and traditions that gives rise to Appalachian clogging and tap. Definitely a fusion/mix that includes all of the styles you mentioned *including* African American and American Indian. I have heard American tap and clogging claimed as both solely English and African, respectively. I think efforts to flatten it and diminish the fact that it is a hybrid of European and African forms miss the point and are not born up by the evidence.

    • @Knappa22
      @Knappa22 6 лет назад +14

      Did anyone in the video say "South Wales is the only region of the British Isles where step dancing in clogs was extant?" No. So there's nothing to be 'straightened out'. This just happens to be a video about the Welsh tradition.

    • @2Irishgurlz
      @2Irishgurlz 6 лет назад +4

      tubemagpie Thank you! I enjoyed your history lesson... :)

  • @sonnyboyrobinson3rd900
    @sonnyboyrobinson3rd900 3 года назад +1

    Imagine somebody delivering your Jordans like that!

  • @eddiec4536
    @eddiec4536 4 года назад +1

    So awesome a video. Really enjoyed watching. Better times gone by.

  • @russellparratt9859
    @russellparratt9859 4 года назад +4

    I loved the 1950's. Lollies were cheap, and everything was in black and white.

  • @josephososkie3029
    @josephososkie3029 4 года назад +1

    Now this was transferred completely into that commercial.

  • @Goldi3loxrox
    @Goldi3loxrox 5 лет назад +3

    I seriously enjoyed this !

  • @GearoidMacGearailt
    @GearoidMacGearailt 4 месяца назад

    Brilliant, great to see such tradition.

  • @gabriele590
    @gabriele590 5 лет назад +1

    Beautiful video! Thank you.

  • @LINDATHRALL-pb8zu
    @LINDATHRALL-pb8zu 11 месяцев назад +1

    ALL IT TAKES IS JUST THE IMAGINATION TO WORK ON A STEP DANCE TECHNIQUE

  • @Channel-os4uk
    @Channel-os4uk 3 года назад +2

    I thought clog dancing was only from Lancashire. You learn summat new every day, look you..

  • @CosmosGwelf
    @CosmosGwelf 4 года назад +2

    The children are brilliant! Very fun piece of history ★★★★★