The Muddy River Cloggers traveled to St. George last weekend to compete in the Dixie Spectacular Dance Championships. Organized by America On Stage, the two-day competition was held at the Dixie Convention Center.
“We took our two oldest teams, levels 5 and 6,” said Muddy River Cloggers director Corinne Messer. “Both groups performed very well! They both received firsts!”
The Level 5 team performed a dance in the intermediate open category called “Do What I Do.” Level 6 competed in a team dance in the advanced small open category called, “I Want Your Love.”
The cloggers are judged against a score in several areas such as technical skills, difficulty standards, showmanship, and choreography.
Individual cloggers also competed in All-Around Solos which are pre-choreographed solos that break down different styles of emphasis including show, percussion, and traditional. Between both teams the local dancers received 19 first place spots, 8 in second place, and 3 in third place.
“Of course, the competition wasn’t flawless,” Messer said. “Things always seem to have to go awry.”
For example, a half hour before performing, one of the clogger’s shoe taps fell off! Luckily, an extra pair of shoes was on hand for just a situation like this.
“Experience has taught me to always carry extra shoes for shoe mishaps, and safety pins and tape for costume issues,” said Messer.
Two Muddy River Cloggers, Hailey Kelly and Jane Warburton, received all firsts on their 3 All-Around Solos. They were recognized for their achievement with a “Superstar” ranking and pin.
Level 5’s team dance was nominated as one of the Judges’ Favorite overall team dances and received a trophy for “Overall Studio Grand Champion” for having the most wins at the intermediate level.
Over 20 studios participated in this year’s competition traveling from California, Idaho, Nevada, and northern Utah. Teams receiving first place qualify to compete at the Clog Nationals at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah this May.
“I was really hoping to make it to Clog Nationals at Lagoon and I was really happy to find out we did!” said Madilyn Marshall who has been clogging with the Muddy River Cloggers for 6 years now. “I really love clogging, especially competition, because it is a good experience and you get to see many different styles of clogging and choreographies.”
Messer commented that the competition was a valuable experience for her dancers. “One of my favorite things about competition is the opportunity for our local cloggers to see other clog teams and how they perform,” she said. “Clogging is such a specific form of dance, and it’s nice to see there are a lot of people out there who love clogging as much as we do.”
