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The Barbary Coast CloggersJuly 2001 San Francisco, Palace of Fine Arts Theater by Renee Renouf |
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If anyone has been born in the U.S. and is Caucasoid and lacks a secret or otherwise affinity for blue grass music and clogging, something is wrong along the Blue Ridge Mountains and West Virginia. The raspy wail of the fiddle and the nasal twang in the vocal delivery is minted cheek. The lyrics which come across the mikes only underscore the blandishment of hush puppies, corn liquor, red suspenders and the moon sliver on the outhouse door tucked behind the hill. The Barbary Coast Cloggers celebrated its twentieth anniversary and blew their collective budgets for two nights at the Palace of Fine Arts July 21-22 where they had appeared just three weeks before as part of the twenty-third Ethnic Dance Festival. Sandy-haired Jim Stubbs of the all-male ensemble served as producer and included in the program three special participants. Sidesaddle, an all-woman Bluegrass Band with a base in San Jose, California, deep in central Silicon Valley, once the pride California's coastal valley farming country and noted for prunes, apricots and peaches, twanged, strummed, and sashayed to their own rhythms, fiddle, banjo, bass and guitar. Ira Bernstein, small and built like your favorite leprechaun, came out from the Carolinas, to demonstrate the staying power of his lungs and differences between English Clogging, Irish Step Dancing, French Canadian Step/Waltz Clog and an incredible tap solo to "Lady Be Good." From the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Barry Welsh who has family from my home town in Tulare County and is probably four decades my junior, was listed as being the Pacific Coast Clogging Champion. His is an impressive individual rhythm, particularly rendered without accompaniment. The cloggers themselves, eleven of them, exhibiting a range of sizes and silhouettes from chunky beef to minuscule and lean, add to the flavor and variety of their performance. They are all quite remarkable. The group dances gigs whenever the occasion arises, but they work full time to support their passion and the ensemble. Their commitment, their skill makes them fully professional, their lack of full time pursuit working oddly in their favor. They don't have to compromise on the caliber of presentation or what to include in their programs. With the advantage of being a regional gem, they are spared Riverdance glitz or what else might happen during an extended Las Vegas appearance. The Cloggers occupy a special niche, providing the area with rare performing corn pone, yet true integrity. The audience for the Sunday matinee was pitifully small, but included two veteran dancers with discerning eyes: Paula Tracey Smuin and Marc Platt, both finding the program and the dancers enchanting.
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