Clogging primarily developed from Irish step dancing called Sean-nós dance; there were also English, Scottish, German, and Cherokee step dances, as well as African rhythms and movement influences too. It was from clogging that tap dance eventually evolved.

Is clogging an Irish thing?

Every time I tell someone that I irish dance, they say “oh so you clog”. No, I don’t “clog” I “irish dance”. Clogging and irish dance are commonly confused and it gets annoying. The fundamentals of the two types of dance are completely opposite of each other.

Is Irish dancing called clogging?

When people think of “Irish dance”, their minds tend to leap to “clogging” (which is incorrect), but they might also leap to “Riverdance” (flashier than most Irish step dance, but an accurate representation of the discipline itself).