Hi there
My grandfather, Wiliam John Blackley (1862-1941) lived a varied life, starting out working in the pits in Lanark. Then somehow he transformed himself into a Professor of Dancing and over the years won many prizes for his composition of new dances. Latterly he added another string to his bow by becoming a ‘spirit merchant’ and running the Wallace Cave and Coronation bars in Lanark.
My query relates to his dance career. His obituary says ’as a very young man, Mr Blackley gained fame as a clog and sand jig dancer’
I can imagine the clog but where does the sand come in !!
I'm sure someone can tell me, many thanks
Sand jig dancing
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JustJean
- Posts: 2520
- Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 12:52 am
- Location: Maine USA
Never heard of a sand jig before but a google search pops up this reference...
The jig is a tune for dancing in 6/8. It has the usual eight bar strain and two strains for a tune. Some jigs are identified as Scottish, Irish, or English but this distinction is largely a matter of style. Dance tunes in 6/8, now indiscriminantly identified as jigs, are as common in the English folk tradition as elsewhere in the islands.
In America during the nineteenth century, particularly in the black-faced minstrel material, a jig was a lively tune in 2/4. Although several of these tunes found their way to Britain, they were not collected as jigs, except by Kerr who drew directly from American sources and identified many 2/4 tunes as jigs, plantation jigs, or sand jigs, a reference to a minstrel stage practice of spreading sand on the stage before dancing to these tunes, obviously a precursor of the soft shoe of vaudeville.
Best wishes
Jean
The jig is a tune for dancing in 6/8. It has the usual eight bar strain and two strains for a tune. Some jigs are identified as Scottish, Irish, or English but this distinction is largely a matter of style. Dance tunes in 6/8, now indiscriminantly identified as jigs, are as common in the English folk tradition as elsewhere in the islands.
In America during the nineteenth century, particularly in the black-faced minstrel material, a jig was a lively tune in 2/4. Although several of these tunes found their way to Britain, they were not collected as jigs, except by Kerr who drew directly from American sources and identified many 2/4 tunes as jigs, plantation jigs, or sand jigs, a reference to a minstrel stage practice of spreading sand on the stage before dancing to these tunes, obviously a precursor of the soft shoe of vaudeville.
Best wishes
Jean
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davran
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:32 pm
- Location: Monkton, Kent, England
I think this is Jean's Google reference http://ceolas.org/tunes/TuneIndex/intro.html
From Folk Archive Resource North East -
"Clog dance is a solo step-dance performed in clogs. It developed during the nineteenth century in the industrial areas of England and Southern Scotland and reached its peak of popularity between 1880 and 1904. Like an early form of 'Street Dance', it involved dancers who had no formal training, was highly competitive, and developed a very skilful and complex repertoire. "
I imagine that the heavy clog-dance shoes later evolved into the tap-dance shoes of Fred Astaire fame.
From Folk Archive Resource North East -
"Clog dance is a solo step-dance performed in clogs. It developed during the nineteenth century in the industrial areas of England and Southern Scotland and reached its peak of popularity between 1880 and 1904. Like an early form of 'Street Dance', it involved dancers who had no formal training, was highly competitive, and developed a very skilful and complex repertoire. "
I imagine that the heavy clog-dance shoes later evolved into the tap-dance shoes of Fred Astaire fame.
Researching: KNOX of Renfrew. Also FORSYTH, MCFARLANE, MCINDOE, BENNIE, HUTCHISON, HENDERSON
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Currie
- Posts: 3924
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- Location: Australia
The trouble with describing dancing is that not even a picture paints a thousand words. You need a moving picture.
A Sand Jig is probably a bit like this video in parts, more or less, in a round about sort of a way but probably with not quite as much sand.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ftYSMk4BLto
It’s not so easy to find a Clog Dance that may not have been mislabelled or too heavily influenced by Tap or Spanish. The dancing in the next video is described as clogging but maybe it’s too otherwise influenced and perhaps his boots aren’t heavy enough.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XxvtJoBbY
The next fellow doesn’t appear to have been influenced by anything, but he certainly has style and plenty of weight in his boots.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mR6qc0Jj1tk
Alan
A Sand Jig is probably a bit like this video in parts, more or less, in a round about sort of a way but probably with not quite as much sand.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ftYSMk4BLto
It’s not so easy to find a Clog Dance that may not have been mislabelled or too heavily influenced by Tap or Spanish. The dancing in the next video is described as clogging but maybe it’s too otherwise influenced and perhaps his boots aren’t heavy enough.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XxvtJoBbY
The next fellow doesn’t appear to have been influenced by anything, but he certainly has style and plenty of weight in his boots.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mR6qc0Jj1tk
Alan