Clifftop 2011 - Flatfoot Dance Competition

[@cheddarcheese3000]

I now have a new goal in life, attend this festival and possibly attend this competiotion. This is truely great stuff!

[@suki114213]

I love this dancing style it is a mix of native American dance and the Irish dancing awesome.

[@jackjohnson7396]

Good dancing, great for the body and mind. Love American tradition like that. USA.

[@Laura7952]

I'd have trouble pickin a winner here, cause they were all so good! 8-)

[@TheDistar10]

I love this stuff...some really great dancing! I can't believe the woman had on heeled boots....ouch! So, who won? I like a couple of guys in the very beginning and #20. However, I am not just limited to them. Excellent dancers--everyone. And, what fun!

[@DavidLynchPersonal]

Glad to see a snippet of our little girl Rebecca - 1st place in junior division for the 4th consecutive time (he said, busting a few buttons on his shirt).

[@kamikazeyamamoto4545]

This originally came from Ireland. Me Irish grandpa danced just like this. I wish he had taught me. This looks like alot of fun.

[@CadillacL]

Awesome dancin!

[@baggie00001]

Number 9 gets my vote. 4:57

[@heartmountain1696]

Love this!! #9 - Fantastic!!

[@samaustin3974]

I remember my daddy buck dancing way back in the 1940s and the early 1940s. He was a livestock dealer/speculator, and when he came home from the stockyard, I could always tell if he had made some money that day. If he made money, he would buck dance on the hearth.

[@cliffordparmeter6940]

I am going to tabernacker down on the old pine floor... Canadian saying ... Kinburn..

[@fltftdncr]

@TheDistar10, There were 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners in several age categories, not enough space here to list them, but you can go to wvculture[dot]org[slash]stringband (sorry, it won't let me put in a direct link), then go to "Contest winners" and see all the winners in the dance and well as music categories.

[@rukeyser]

@fltftdncr oh i thought shooting from the back was kinda brilliant, actually - for that very reason. & you want it high so folks in the back can see - it's all good.

[@rukeyser]

@fltftdncr oh that's sweet of you - hope you know i was smiling. my girl came in 2nd in the phantom category & her pal came in first - sounds like a wonderful time was had by all :)

[@DinorwicSongwriter]

How do you dance flat foot in high heels?

[@tedmaybury8628]

Number 9. All great flat-footin' cloggers.

[@ThePassionOfTheMarc]

Do you need lessons to flat foot (and buck dance) or is it something taught within families and passed down through generations? Such cool dances.

[@fltftdncr]

Could be either. People can learn it in various ways. There are people who teach it, and there are DVDs available with flatfooting lessons. One really good one is by Ira Bernstein - I think it's available on-line. There are also workshops around by various instructors, for example at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival (where this video was recorded), they have daily workshops during their annual festival. Also, lots of people just learn on their own by watching others.

[@ThePassionOfTheMarc]

fltftdncr Thanks for the speedy reply! I live in California so I never got to see any of these dances but since late last year, I have been intrigued and even started researching its roots. I'm so happy that there are Americans keeping the traditional dance and music alive. Without videos like this I would have thought it was something only done at amusement parks (I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just the only so called "traditional" dance I've seen here in San Francisco is dirty hippies dancing in Golden Gate Park). Thank you much for the upload! I really enjoyed it!

[@rainerrain9689]

Ca you point me to some DVD's I could buy. Thanks

[@fltftdncr]

@DavidSLynch She is great! I wish my wife had gotten more of her on the tape. But I saw her complete performance - knew she'd win.

[@fltftdncr]

@DavidSLynch I just posted another video which shows her complete performance, recorded by my brother.

[@giovanideparma3500]

How different is it from tap dancing ? It doesn't look that different

[@fltftdncr]

It's similar, but there are some subtle differences. Flatfoot dancers usually dance with an up-and-down body motion and tend to make the most sounds with their heels. Their movements are typically more flatfooted than tap dancers. On the other hand, tap dancers stay light on their feet and tend to dance to the melodies of music, rather than to the beats.

[@renatodragonetti]

I love this dance, teach it in Italy!

[@perrymayson9286]

wow! looks like so much fun, and a good work-out, too! wish they had lessons in St. Louis, but I doubt it :-)

[@fltftdncr]

@rukeyser It was a pretty good view, better than I had expected. As to the stage needing to be high, yes, normally that would be desirable for people in the back to see. But the problem with this stage is that the area for the audience is not level. It slopes downward away from the stage. So regardless of where you may be sitting, it's almost impossible to see anyone's feet. That's probably why the judges for the flatfoot competition sit on the stage rather than in front of it.

[@fltftdncr]

@rukeyser I am so sorry that everyone is not shown. But we can only blame my wife as she was the one with the camera and did the taping. I was a little upset myself, because I know there were a LOT of really great dancers in the 16-40 category.

[@finbarmaguire5668]

hey gals,boys please look at the irish version of this style of dancing YOU,TUBE,ATLANTIC,STEPS TRADITIONAL IRISH DANCE SEAN.NOS yr gonny love broom dance luv ya

[@slantsix6344]

Close ups of the feet would be a good idea too.

[@rckeeneye]

4:57 the winner? All were good dancers but she was the best.

[@RubyCoughDrop]

wait, so who won???

[@fltftdncr]

These were the winners by age category. 15 years of age and under: 1st place - Rebecca Molaro, Asheville, N.C. 2nd place - Jeffrey Amundsen, Longwood, Fla. 3rd place - Lulu Furtado, Front Royal, Va. 16 years of age through 40: 1st place - Becky Hill, Elkins, W.Va. 2nd place - Josephine Stewart, Charlottesville, Va. 3rd place - Emily Pinkerton, Pittsburgh, Pa. 41 years of age through 59: 1st place - Jay Bland, Kennesaw, Ga. 2nd place - Sharon Leahy, Spring Valley, Ohio 3rd place - Jan Scopel, Annapolis, Md. 60 years of age and older: 1st place - Marilyn Branch, Kalamazoo, Mich. 2nd place - Maureen Terman, Morgantown, W.Va. 3rd place - Jim O’Bermeyer, Crown Point, Ind.

[@pappysmp]

Name of the song? please

[@mickmartin9310]

@Luis....Arkansas Traveler....

[@fltftdncr]

@rukeyser She did a great performance! I was watching from the front while my wife went around back to tape - said that's the only way she could get their feet without getting up right at the stage and blocking people's views. It's too bad the stage sits up so high in front.

[@rukeyser]

you skipped my baby ( but you skipped a lot of 16-40 i think ) !!!!!!!!! i never get to go & this was my only chance & a mother's heart is just breaking over here - breaking i tell you ;->!

[@michaelhaiden6718]

get jesco white

[@acf5786]

# 6