0:00:03 > 0:00:08In the last decades of the 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12there was a dance, now rarely seen, that resounded through
0:00:12 > 0:00:15the collieries and pit villages of the North East. Clog dance.
0:00:19 > 0:00:25For Charles Hazlewood, a conductor and musician, clog dance has recently become an obsession.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31I first saw clog dancing in this very barn and I was completely entranced.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34The sound of a wooden sole and a wooden heel
0:00:34 > 0:00:38on the floor and these beautiful little sort of shuffles
0:00:38 > 0:00:41and clicks and clacks, this is a new music for me and I thought,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43"My God, I want more of this!"
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Clog dance has all but died out in the North East.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51- Have any of you ever seen clog dancing before.- No.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Does any of you even know what clog dancing is?
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Now Charles plans to put it firmly back on the map.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03If I said to you that you will all be dancing exactly like that by the end of tonight, I would be lying.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08Charles wants to stage the largest mass clog dance this country has ever seen.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Here is to Flash Mob Clog Dance!
0:01:11 > 0:01:14CHEERING
0:01:16 > 0:01:23He's going to be helped by a team of local enthusiasts led by expert clog dancer, Laura Connolly.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26The traditions of clog dancing are really important.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29In other countries their culture is singing and dancing and that
0:01:29 > 0:01:34is natural to them, and it seems in our country we shy away from it.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I think it would be really good to get it back.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45We're going to rekindle the spirit, that great ancient spirit which is clog dancing.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Charles is on his way to the North East.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08He's done some ground work and now has two weeks to stage his mass clog dance.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11I'm really excited about these next two weeks.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13It seems to me that something magical could happen.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17I'm just hoping to find lots of open hearted and free spirited people
0:02:17 > 0:02:18who want to give this thing a go.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Maybe we'll give birth to a whole new generation of clog dancers.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Clog dance can be traced back to the Middle Ages,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35but the dance that we know today took shape during the Industrial Revolution
0:02:35 > 0:02:39when the clog was standard footwear for millions of workers all over Britain.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Some claim the modern dance originated in the mills of Lancashire
0:02:46 > 0:02:51as clog wearing workers tapped out the rhythms of the looms.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59But by the mid 1800s clog dancing had spread to the mining communities of the North East.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07This was the pitman's dance made up and performed
0:03:07 > 0:03:12at home or in the pub, cheap entertainment for working families.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16The dancers, almost always men, would usually perform solo
0:03:16 > 0:03:18either unaccompanied or to a fiddle or pipe.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25From such humble origins clog dance produced some stars.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel were both clog dancers.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34But the most famous was Dan Leno, probably the most popular
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Music Hall entertainer of the 1880s
0:03:37 > 0:03:38and a clog dance champion.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47It's Charles' mission to breathe new life into this great tradition
0:03:47 > 0:03:52and his first port of call is a dance studio in central Newcastle.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Today, Charles' creative team is meeting for the very first time.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02What keys do you play the pipes in?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- G major, D major...- F?
0:04:05 > 0:04:07..so it's slightly... And F.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12Lee Proud and Nicki Belsher will be in charge of choreography,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and it's going to be Laura's job to teach everybody how to dance.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Clog dancing is a special kind of dancing for me
0:04:19 > 0:04:21because of the rhythms.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24If I put my clogs on I'll dance in front of the whole world
0:04:24 > 0:04:28and it wouldn't bother me, whereas if you ask me to do something else
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I'd be quite shy about it so it totally brings me out of myself.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38It's kind of like my brains are in my feet, that's my best area.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Laura has been clog dancing for 16 years and represents the contemporary form.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54As part of a live act the Demon Barber Road Show, she performs all over the country.
0:04:59 > 0:05:06Here, Laura is demonstrating two different types of dance, a reel and a jig.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Other types of dance will be Horn Pipe or Waltz.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Like most cloggers from the North East, Laura dances on the balls
0:05:24 > 0:05:27of her feet putting her heel down only to make a tap.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Someone trained in Lancashire clog, the other main English tradition,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33would have a more flat-footed style.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Wow, that's amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44So my first question to you is how feasible it would be
0:05:44 > 0:05:48to teach any part of that to a large group of people?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50The first step would probably be OK, that one...
0:05:52 > 0:05:56That would be a tricky bit perhaps, but I would probably do something like...
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- So the action is still the same visually...- Yes.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06- But they're not having to make the triplets.- Yeah, that makes sense, Yeah, great.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08The hardest part was the beginning bit -
0:06:08 > 0:06:10it was like a double tap. Do the very first pattern.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18That's quite... That looks quite tricky.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20THEY LAUGH
0:06:20 > 0:06:24I just want to start off by telling you a little bit why I'm here.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29I've been fascinated by clog dancing for a long time, and if I get my ambition, if I get to realise
0:06:29 > 0:06:33my ambition it's to get hundreds of people in Monument Square in Newcastle
0:06:33 > 0:06:36to do some fantastic, effectively formation clog dancing.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41How will that sound when you've got hundreds of people clogging in a big concrete space?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Also, talking to you two particularly as great choreographers,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48how feasible is it to create something which is almost like a promenade performance
0:06:48 > 0:06:53where people are meandering around, they're not quite sure, they've heard something's going to happen,
0:06:53 > 0:06:58and suddenly they're ambushed by something immense which happens that everyone just suddenly goes...
0:06:58 > 0:07:01I'd love it if I found myself in the middle of this cacophony
0:07:01 > 0:07:02of rhythm and music.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05You can have people wandering round that look like they're
0:07:05 > 0:07:08just having a fabulous time, having a coffee, sitting near Pret
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- that can suddenly stand up and... - I think that's great!
0:07:11 > 0:07:15It's happening all around us which is scary for the audience cos they'll think they have to join in.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19That's the brilliance because it's the element of surprise.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23If you think about having mannequins in a shop window who are real humans
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and then all of a sudden they start clogging in the shop windows.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29There's no escape from this. It's like a clog twilight zone.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36I'm just delighted. It's scary and risky
0:07:36 > 0:07:40when you first put a bunch of people together, especially people you haven't worked with before,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43you don't know... The chemistry could be all wrong.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48The chemistry only has to be very slightly wrong and the whole thing is doomed from the start.
0:07:48 > 0:07:54I must say every person in that room has got something really valid and big hearted
0:07:54 > 0:07:58and sophisticated in a way but also very grounded to offer.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01I'm about a size nine, do you reckon?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04For her day job, Laura teaches clog dance to
0:08:04 > 0:08:08primary school children and today Charles is going back to school.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11So is this your first time of putting clogs on?
0:08:11 > 0:08:15- Absolutely my first time I'm... - That's exciting.- I'm totally a clog virgin, yeah.- OK.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19- Wow!- Do they feel all right, a bit strange?- Yeah, it's a bit strange.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- You feel like you might slip over any minute.- Yeah.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26At the heart of every clog dance there are a small number of very basic foot moves.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28- So you've got taps.- Yeah.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31There's heel taps, clicking the heels together.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35The main one you'll use is the shuffle, the forward and back movement.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Up here in the North East we do a shuffle called a rounded shuffle,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42so you go out and then into straight if you were to dance...
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- Oh, yeah.- It just looks nicer doing the rounded shuffles.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51So they're sort of your sort of basic moves and then they just get put together to make a step.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55So, a nice easy one to start with and you've got a toe behind...
0:08:55 > 0:08:57And then a little hop and a heel in front...
0:08:57 > 0:09:04A step is a series of foot taps that usually lasts for eight bars of music or about 15 seconds.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08The classic clog steps have plain descriptive names
0:09:08 > 0:09:11like cross-the-buckle or back jumps.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13And one, two, three, four.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Then what we have to do, this is the tricky bit, is change feet.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18So you're going there for your first one.
0:09:18 > 0:09:24Traditionally, steps weren't written down but were passed on from teacher to pupil.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30Dancers would learn a repertoire of steps and when performing, string some together to create the dance.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35And then you've got a break and it's usually something that looks quite different.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39Out, cross, out together, out together and click. You go out.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44'It's wonderful. She's such a good teacher, she just so totally encourages you to zone in.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'I was sort of in my feet if you see what I mean.'
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Which is a curious place for me to be. I don't spend much time in my feet.
0:09:50 > 0:09:56'It's so lovely because there's entry points, you know, for someone like me, at my age.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01'I can make a step sound and look vaguely valid quite quickly.'
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- And click.- Very good. That was really fast learning.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06'I'm delighted.'
0:10:06 > 0:10:10We can definitely get lots and lots of people who've never done it before
0:10:10 > 0:10:14to do this and to do it in a way that they can feel totally...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18valuable, valid... Authentic.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27While Laura and the rest of the team work on the routine.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Charles takes to the streets of Newcastle.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I want to get to the bottom of what people here know about clog dancing.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Do people have a sense that it's an important part of their heritage?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Do people know how much clogs were used in heavy industry?
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Does anyone know anything about clogs at all?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52- Do you know what clog dancing is? - I would associate that with Holland - Dutch.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- Do you know it's an important part of North Eastern heritage? - No, definitely not.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02- I thought that was a clog.- Right, those are Crocs.- Crocs! That's right.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Would you fancy having a go with it? SHE LAUGHS
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Me, clog dancing, at my age?
0:11:08 > 0:11:10- Yeah.- No, I've got a bad back, man.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16The problem with clogs is you cannot really fasten them on.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18You seem to like slip out of them.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Ah, the clogs you get here are laced up and they're like normal shoes.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Well, then they're not clogs then.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Oh, they are cos they've got wooden soles, you see.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31If you put in something and you fasten it, it's a shoe. Right?
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Now flip flops, right...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36If flip flops had laces would they be flip flops?
0:11:38 > 0:11:43You must be, you must be... inexorable logic. I thank you.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I'm feeling a bit deflated, you know.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51People just haven't got a clue what it is, why it's important, where it comes from.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55And I've got one bloke arguing semantics with me.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58If I can just kind of push people through that very small little pain barrier
0:11:58 > 0:12:03that they've perceived and get them to put some clogs on, I think it will make people feel great.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07People are only too happy to play football because they know what that is.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11No-one knows what clog dancing is and it can be every bit as fulfilling,
0:12:11 > 0:12:17exciting, inspiring, fizzy as playing football, rugby or any other team activity.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Before he starts pulling people together to rehearse them,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Charlie wants to understand more about clog dance and
0:12:25 > 0:12:28the mining communities where it flourished.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Half way between Durham and Newcastle sits Beamish,
0:12:37 > 0:12:43a living museum which provides a vivid portrait of colliery life.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47At the start of the 20th century, the Durham and Northumberland Coalfield
0:12:47 > 0:12:52employed nearly 250,000 men and boys in about 400 pits,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57carving out roughly 56 million tons of coal every year.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02For the miners and their families life was hard.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Cheap housing clustered around the mine heads,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08tiny cottages, often sleeping 12 to a room,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11complete with only the most basic outdoor sanitation.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15This is apparently called the ash closet or the ash netty.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18It's pretty obvious...
0:13:18 > 0:13:20what goes on in there.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Among mining communities everyone wore clogs.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27They were hard wearing, easy to mend and costing about three shillings
0:13:27 > 0:13:31in 1900, they were the cheapest footwear available.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I don't know whether this is of any interest to you,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- we've actually got an original clog look.- Oh, look at that!
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Complete with its original metal horseshoe type thing.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Yes, it would have been made in the same way as a horseshoe, nailed on.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51In a mine like this you probably wouldn't have been allowed to have
0:13:51 > 0:13:54this metal on because it could have been struck against
0:13:54 > 0:13:57metal or stone underground and caused a spark,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00which could ignite gas underground. So a lot of the mines in this area
0:14:00 > 0:14:04would have to remove the metal and they'd just be walking on the wood,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09which would mean the boots wore down a lot quicker but you'd just have to repair them.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Often working for 12 hours a day, six days a week,
0:14:16 > 0:14:21miners toiled in cramped, damp, dark conditions.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23They were paid only for the coal they produced,
0:14:23 > 0:14:28and colliery demands could run to six tons of coal per miner, per day.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34It was back-breaking work and dangerous.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39When there was roof collapse would it have always be because of human error, that they hadn't
0:14:39 > 0:14:44propped efficiently, or was it a complete lottery - you could get collapse at any point?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47It was a complete lottery. The rock has natural faults in it
0:14:47 > 0:14:49and you can never tell where the faults are.
0:14:49 > 0:14:55You might have put your props in exactly as they should have been but if you get a huge fault in the rock
0:14:55 > 0:14:59there's not much you can do about it, it will just collapse. So it was a common occurrence.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03In 1913 there was an injury in British coalmines every five minutes.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04You got things like rock falls.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08They're using gunpowder to blast the coal out. That was dangerous.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11You had gas down the mine, there was always a risk of gas explosions.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15And because they're working with coal, coal dust is highly flammable.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19So if the coal dust caught into a flame then it could ignite as well.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23There was so many dangers underground, it was a really dangerous job.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I found that really interesting.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44I already had a very strong sense, as anyone does, of the sheer hardship of coalmining
0:15:44 > 0:15:47but to actually go into that drift mine,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51stooped and kind of cramped into the bowels of the earth...
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And the idea of spending hour upon hour in there,
0:15:54 > 0:15:59labouring, toiling, on your own, not even in the companionship of others.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03It's very moving and it does make me think once again that clog dancing
0:16:03 > 0:16:06must have been like a kind of a blessed relief, like a fantastic...
0:16:08 > 0:16:13..sherbet centre to life, because what else was there?
0:16:17 > 0:16:22The 1880s and the 1890s, when the British collieries were booming,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25was the golden age of clog dance.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Music Hall artists incorporated clog dance into their acts
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and took it up and down the country.
0:16:36 > 0:16:42National competitions started. Dancers gathering from all counties to compete for championship belts.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49There was sometimes so many entrants, competitions lasted seven days.
0:16:52 > 0:16:59In the Durham area, one woman has done more than any other to keep the spirit of those times alive.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04So today, Laura has brought Charles to Langley Moore to see Brenda Walker.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20For over 30 years Brenda has been teaching clog dance.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25She teaches a strict local style of clog dance that dates back to the golden age of clog.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31Arms by the side, head immobile, little or no expression.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35The one difference is that now, the dancers are all women.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Wow! That's amazing, absolutely amazing!
0:18:07 > 0:18:09- Wow, are you Brenda?- Yes, I am.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11I'm Charles, it's very nice to meet you.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12- And you.- Have you met Laura?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Yes, Brenda and I have already met. - Yes, I know Laura.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20That's just incredible, I haven't seen such a comprehensive display en masse.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24I've seen Laura doing amazing things... So I'm flabbergasted.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Well, Brenda, we're here because we're trying
0:18:27 > 0:18:31to organise a kind of clog dancing massive in Newcastle city centre.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35And you're one of the great scions of the art of the traditional
0:18:35 > 0:18:39clog dancing here, so I mean I'm hoping that we can grab you
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and all these fantastic women you're working with and indeed
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- anyone else who's in the building at the moment.- Yes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48- Would they all be up for joining in? - Absolutely. We have got
0:18:48 > 0:18:52tap dancers as well at the school and hopefully they'll join us as well.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02As well as preserving the local style of dance,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Brenda teaches traditional local steps.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10These steps can be traced all the way back to the 1890s
0:19:10 > 0:19:13from three generations of a single mining family.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Jim Elwood, shown here with his family, was a local miner who
0:19:21 > 0:19:26became the pitman's clog dancing champion of Northumberland and Durham in 1896.
0:19:28 > 0:19:34Jim, taught his steps to his son Johnson, who in turn handed them on to his daughter Mary.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40And it was Mary who taught Brenda the Elwood steps over 30 years ago.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45When I first started to learn, I used to go to Mary's
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and I would be hanging onto her kitchen sink on a little board.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53The budgie would be there coughing cos Mary was a heavy smoker,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55but she was very inspiring, you know, to see her dancing.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58She didn't do a lot of dancing
0:19:58 > 0:20:00but when she did, her steps, they were lovely.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03She would show me a step - mind, not on every visit,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and it was like gold when I got a new step from her,
0:20:06 > 0:20:11and I would just write them down in a very basic way.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17In a way, preserving the Elwood tradition, the Elwood steps, has been a life project for you.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21It has. I love the style. It's elegant.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26It just sounds good. It's light and it's just lovely to watch.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29I believe in keeping things as they should be,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and feel we're lucky enough to have them, we're lucky enough to...
0:20:32 > 0:20:38because in other parts of the country, some people have died off,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41taking their steps with them, and where have they gone?
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Nobody knows what they were, there's no record.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48Some of my girls have said, "I don't know whether I'm sure
0:20:48 > 0:20:51"about doing this the way that you're doing it",
0:20:51 > 0:20:53and I've explained to them, it's a fun thing,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58so there is very strong feeling still about the traditions, not just me.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I mean, my approach to situations of this sort,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04to kind of endeavours of this sort,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08it's a bit like if you paint a moustache on the Mona Lisa
0:21:08 > 0:21:14or you staged Beethoven's Fidelio underneath the Los Angeles highway,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18at best that will be a kind of very thought provoking and interesting experience
0:21:18 > 0:21:22which might lead you to other thoughts, which might take you to new places.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27The one thing it will not do will be to take anything away from either the Mona Lisa or Fidelio.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- These remain supreme works of art, do you see what I mean?- Absolutely.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34By the same token, whatever our jamboree ends up being,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38it won't take away one molecule from what clogging actually is.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41No, I don't so. I think it'll be wonderful, I do honestly.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46I'm not adverse to experimenting and everything,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50as long as the traditional steps are kept safe.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I think tradition's really important.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58As a conductor, I would not be doing my job properly
0:21:58 > 0:22:00if I didn't read every last piece of information,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03if I didn't listen to every last performance,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07if I didn't immerse myself in everything that we know or can possible know
0:22:07 > 0:22:12about, let's say, the way appropriately to perform a trill in a particular phrase of Bach.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16But you have to make your own choices about what parts of that tradition you utilise
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and what parts of that tradition you leave behind.
0:22:20 > 0:22:27Art of any sort mutates and morphs and develops and changes over time
0:22:27 > 0:22:31and that's nothing to be frightened of, that's what naturally happens.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35It is like Chinese whispers that things just, you know, go like that.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38But that doesn't for a minute mean
0:22:38 > 0:22:43you don't have to keep reacquainting yourself with the source,
0:22:43 > 0:22:48keep doing that and then go off on your adventures again, come back, go off on another adventure.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Tradition is where home is
0:22:51 > 0:22:56but if you only stay at home, you have a fairly narrow life.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02Charles has recruited Brenda and her girls and rehearsals start tomorrow.
0:23:02 > 0:23:08But first, there's one other miners' dance Charles wants to understand, and that's rapper.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16Clog and rapper both came of age during the Industrial Revolution
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and they share many foot moves in common.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22But while clog was the humble dance for the home or pit,
0:23:22 > 0:23:27rapper was a performance dance often linked to morris dancing.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Two comic characters, Tommy and Betty, a man in drag,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34would provide a running commentary on the action and tell jokes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:23:45 > 0:23:50Like clog, rapper has been kept alive throughout the 20th century by small groups of enthusiasts.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Tonight, Charles has come to the Cumberland Arms in Byker.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00It's folk night, but for once, he isn't interested in the music.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Charles has heard tell of a local rapper group
0:24:04 > 0:24:09called The Newcastle Kingsmen, who train and perform here once a week.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18MEN SHOUT OUT
0:24:27 > 0:24:34The Kingsmen were founded back in 1949 at King's College in Newcastle by a professor of civil engineering.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40The group still preserves strong links with the university,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45and regular recruits from students and graduates ensure the Kingsmen are still going strong 60 years on.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52MAN CALLS OUT
0:25:38 > 0:25:39That was amazing.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45What an extraordinary virtuoso display.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The precision to it, not just in terms of your amazing footwork
0:25:48 > 0:25:52but also, anyone puts a hand wrong and someone will get cut.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- Occasionally. - I've been scraped in once a while,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58- but the blades aren't sharp. - Still be quite nasty, wouldn't it?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00It would be very nasty.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02You're making light of it!
0:26:02 > 0:26:06When you were whirling round and round and round, you were like a blur.
0:26:06 > 0:26:13It felt like we were all going to be sucked into your vortex at any moment, actually, but interestingly,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- whilst the steps looked similar to clog-dancing steps...- Yes.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18..you've got normal leather shoes on.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21What the coal miners used to do is go out in their Sunday best.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Clogs would be unflexible enough to do that speed in
0:26:24 > 0:26:26and sometimes they're a bit dangerous.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29You don't talk to Health and Safety about your work, do you?
0:26:29 > 0:26:33- No.- Thank goodness for that.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Charles has met the professionals.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Now it's time to start work with the amateurs.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49140 men and women have signed up for his mass clog dance
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and Charles is going to rehearse them in small groups.
0:26:52 > 0:26:58So the first thing you need is a pair of clogs and we have various bags there, all shapes, all sizes of foot.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01There are clogs for you.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Tonight, Charles and Laura are in Sunderland
0:27:06 > 0:27:12where 15 students and staff from the university have gathered at the North Shore nightclub.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16They feel weird, they feel hard, and they're curved at the front
0:27:16 > 0:27:19so you want to move about and dance in them. It's weird, you know.
0:27:19 > 0:27:26Determined to get things off to a good start, Laura has drafted in two of her clog dance friends.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30This is Tiny and Fiona. They are like the queens of clogging.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Before we go any further, I'm hoping they're going to show us
0:27:33 > 0:27:37some amazing little thing just to get our mouths watering.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00Wow! Hoh-hoh!
0:28:03 > 0:28:08If I said to you that you will all be dancing exactly like that by the end of tonight, I would be lying,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10but there's a great deal that we can do
0:28:10 > 0:28:13which everyone will be able to get their feet around.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16We're going to start off by learning the first step.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20- Yep.- OK?- So, your first step, it's got a little reminder.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It's called the Pink Panther step, because it goes...
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- TO TUNE OF PINK PANTHER THEME: - ..da-da, da-da...is your rhythm.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Laura and the team has devised four basic steps for everyone to learn.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35The drop step isn't actually a clog step at all,
0:28:35 > 0:28:41but Charles and Laura are going to use it to march the dancers from place to place.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and stop, fantastic.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48The grapevine is a traditional Yorkshire step
0:28:48 > 0:28:51but it's normally danced at least three times this speed.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Click, and then we're going to go back the other way,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57so, right, left in front, right and click, heel, step.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02Swannie heel is the oldest step of the four, and also the hardest to master.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Heel, step, one more, left, heel, step.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09OK, stop there.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Step, heel, step.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16'Um, I'm not very co-ordinated.'
0:29:16 > 0:29:18For certain things I'm OK,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but it's very, very different
0:29:21 > 0:29:24to going out dancing in a club cos it's not what you're used to,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27but once you do it time and time again and you watch everybody
0:29:27 > 0:29:32and they're all doing the same thing, then it gets easier and easier as it goes along.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35The shoe's hard to get used to, with it having a curve in it,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37and sometimes you feel like you're going to fall
0:29:37 > 0:29:41but it was good and challenging, but it's good to learn something new.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46What you need to do now is decide which step you particularly like of the four that you've learnt,
0:29:46 > 0:29:53and we'll say that the Pink Panther is here, so drop step is here.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58Then grapevine here, and finally the old swannie, OK.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Are we ready?
0:30:00 > 0:30:03One, two, three, four.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Yep...
0:30:05 > 0:30:08One, two, three...
0:30:11 > 0:30:16If Charles' clog dance is to have impact, the dancers must stay perfectly in synch.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Just one person out of time and the whole effect will be ruined.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Over here, keep going.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24OK...
0:30:26 > 0:30:29After four, we're going to stop. Two, three, four and stop.
0:30:31 > 0:30:36Even more crucial are the moments when they stop dancing all together.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40After four - one, two, three, four.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Everybody, one, two, three, four.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56OK, and stop.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Excellent! Well done.
0:30:59 > 0:31:00That was really exciting.
0:31:00 > 0:31:07I didn't think it would actually be this fun, but wahey, once you get stuck into it, it's brilliant.
0:31:07 > 0:31:12You've got all the clogs hitting the floor at the same time, there's this constant beat
0:31:12 > 0:31:14and the energy is just, wow!
0:31:14 > 0:31:19It just fills the room and it's an amazing feeling.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I just said to my friend we should start doing it from now on
0:31:22 > 0:31:26cos it's really fun and you get to make a loud noise as well, which is always good.
0:31:30 > 0:31:37When Charles' dancers take to the streets in seven days' time, they're going to clog in a flash-mob style.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42That means they will surprise the people of Newcastle with what seems like an impromptu performance
0:31:42 > 0:31:47and the location Charles has chosen is Grey's Monument.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52- It's nice that there's several entry points to it.- Yes.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56- We could also have charging armies of cloggers coming in from various directions.- Yeah.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Erected in 1838 to the social reformer Charles Grey,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Grey's Monument is a landmark in the Newcastle landscape.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11More importantly for Charles, it sits at the heart of the city's shopping district.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14This is one of Newcastle's busiest public spaces.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21It would be amazing to have a whole hoard of cloggers coming up that hill,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23- or maybe up that one.- Yep.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26It's full of possibility, and hopefully it won't even be raining.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Although Charles's flash mob will be firmly based on traditional dance,
0:32:35 > 0:32:36he's keen to mix things up a bit.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38This is the drums, here.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41OK.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45HOLLOW RINGING
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Usually for chemicals but not usually for dancing.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Oh, they're going to be absolutely brilliant.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54In the past, clog dancers would often perform on top of beer barrels.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59Now Charles has decided to give that idea a modern twist.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02All he needs are some dancers.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13So, there we have three oil drums and three clog dancers.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15- Are you ready?- Yep.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Elegantly done.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20This is so exciting.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Can I just say, I'm really scared.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27- What can we do to make you feel safe? - Can I have another hand in here?
0:33:27 > 0:33:31- Yeah, I'll come in there. - Yeah, you come in there. - One, two, three, four.
0:33:40 > 0:33:46Clogs are slippy at the best of times, and on these oil drums, Laura has every reason to feel nervous.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04That was amazing. That was absolutely amazing.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Although rehearsals are now in full swing, Charles is taking a day out.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25He's come to Criccieth in North Wales
0:34:25 > 0:34:28to collect his own pair of clogs from Trefor Owen,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30one of the last remaining clog-makers in the UK.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39Trefor has been hand-crafting clogs for the last three decades.
0:34:39 > 0:34:45He uses traditional techniques handed down from craftsmen to pupil over generations.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Even his tools date back to the 1840s.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53- You must be Trefor. - That's right, I'm Trefor. - Hi, great to see you.- And you.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55You're already at it at this early hour.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Self-employment.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59What sort of wood is this?
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Predominantly sycamore,
0:35:01 > 0:35:05and that's because probably 80% of what I make is for dancers.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07- Sycamore's a better wood.- Because?
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Clarity of sound - tap more than clunk.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12- Crucial. - Oh, so it's quite a clean surface.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16- Yeah.- OK. So, you've got a hunk of wood, and then you cut it.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19- Is this a rough shape? - That's blocked out.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24From that, you go on to these old hand tools. Hook goes into the iron.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27What that gives you is immense leverage powers.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29It's not muscle. It's physics.
0:35:29 > 0:35:34From the blank, you're going down and you're cutting in.
0:35:36 > 0:35:41I'll give you a suggestion. You're learning the dancing and to learn something
0:35:41 > 0:35:43about how these are made in the first place?
0:35:43 > 0:35:44- For sure, yeah.- Have a go yourself.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48- Absolutely, love to, yeah. - Take your left hand.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53- Grab that, left foot on the bench. - You were like that, weren't you?
0:35:53 > 0:35:54It's quite a long stretch.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57It'll feel very strange.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01I'm doing tiny shavings. You seemed to be able to get...
0:36:01 > 0:36:05Shavings are good. It's all right. You need to put it slightly twisted.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08- Ah, yeah.- That's it. You get a much bigger one then.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12- Yeah, so it's more like that. - That's better, yeah. And that should come loose.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16- There you go.- Look at that! - Excellent! You're hired!
0:36:16 > 0:36:20I'm hired. I'm the apprentice you've been waiting for, aren't I?
0:36:29 > 0:36:34Hard-wearing, durable and easily repaired, the clog was the perfect labourer's footwear.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40In 1901 there were more than 6,000 clog-makers in England and Wales,
0:36:40 > 0:36:46producing hundreds of thousands of pairs of clogs every single year.
0:36:49 > 0:36:55But in the second half of the 20th century, clog-making went into an inexorable decline.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02One of the things that happened is that around the 1930s,
0:37:02 > 0:37:07around the big slump, you got a stigma of clogs were associated with poverty.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10If you were unemployed in the back end of the workhouse era,
0:37:10 > 0:37:13you were actually issued clogs if you were in the workhouse.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15If you were lucky, they fitted you.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17You got this stigma built up.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22When I started, which was 1978, just in the area I was living in,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25in South Yorkshire, I could count over 100 clog-makers.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28That was just in my local area.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31- In the late '70s? - '78, when I started the business.
0:37:31 > 0:37:37Now, if you collect everybody with any association to the clog trade at all,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40you can just get 17 in the whole UK.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45So steel, glass, chemicals, shipbuilding, coal,
0:37:45 > 0:37:50all the old heavy industries, they were the core market of the old clog-makers.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54I came through it from the dance, and I suppose I'm part of a generation
0:37:54 > 0:38:01that was one of the blips of the dance revival in the '70s.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05If I was reliant on making working clogs, I'd have gone out of business as well.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09We do do working clogs here. We do local farmers' clogs.
0:38:09 > 0:38:15We still have some very small industrial contracts, but 75, 80% is dance.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21It takes Trevor two hours to carve a pair of clog soles.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24This is going to swing round. This is going to drop down, OK?
0:38:26 > 0:38:30Next, he cuts, shapes and attaches the leather upper.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35You'll present it to the sole, you'll make sure it fits where you need it to fit.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Are these the ones for me?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40- This is hopefully the pair that should fit you.- Beautiful.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- Should be a stool appeared behind you, as if my magic.- Right, great.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48- Off with the filthy modern DM. - Everything has its place.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51They want to be quite snug, don't they?
0:38:51 > 0:38:55They should be a close fit without cutting off the circulation.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56That's exactly what they are.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Ah, they feel absolutely amazing.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Thank you so much. I'll wear them for evermore.
0:39:22 > 0:39:28For the last week, Charles and his team have been training 140 amateur dancers in small groups.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Now, with two days to go, they're coming together for the very first time.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37I'm so excited. What can you hear?
0:39:37 > 0:39:38TRAMP OF CLOGS
0:39:38 > 0:39:42The distant sound of lots of people clogging.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44This is the first full rehearsal.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46I mean, we won't have everyone tonight,
0:39:46 > 0:39:51but I think we might have a third to a half, which is fantastic.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54This is when the project gets really good.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Hello!
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Good evening. It's so great to see you all here.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05The purpose of this evening's session is to try and start instilling in all of us
0:40:05 > 0:40:10what the basic building blocks, what the structure of our little show is going to be.
0:40:11 > 0:40:18The performance will begin with the different groups of dancers all converging on Monument Square.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22What I've got Nicki doing is establishing which group is going to come from where,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26this flash-mob element that we've got a group coming up the Metro steps
0:40:26 > 0:40:29and other people having a coffee, they're joining in.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32People coming from different locations, seemingly at random.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34That's where we've got to.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38So, you lot will go up the furthest and round the outside.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40This lot will come in behind Laura's group,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43and then this group will go in-between those groups.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47It will all make sense in the end, I promise you.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49We're going to go for the top of the show.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54In the order that Nicki's told you, gradually each group makes its way into the space.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58OK, let's give that a try and see how it goes.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The flash mob are going to assemble while Laura and her friends
0:41:03 > 0:41:08are performing a dance from the 1920s called Mrs Willis's Rag.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12Once everyone has come together, Charles has a plan for what he hopes
0:41:12 > 0:41:17will be the first great dramatic moment of the flash mob.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Guys, listen to me now.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I want to show you how you're going to know when to freeze.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25When everyone is on, these guys are still dancing away at the front
0:41:25 > 0:41:29and then they're going to do a sign - for the last four bars,
0:41:29 > 0:41:34their arms are up like that and then they stop and you stop and there is complete silence.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37OK? Are we ready?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39One, two, three, four.
0:41:41 > 0:41:47Charles's team have been trained to instil in all the dancers a sense of shared rhythm.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Now they will find out if they have succeeded or not.
0:41:57 > 0:41:58Yes!
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Hearing the rhythm of the clogs
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- is really good. - You could hear it...
0:42:05 > 0:42:06I knew where you had to come
0:42:06 > 0:42:09cos I could hear the stamp in the entrance hall.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12You know, it was so many people who haven't danced.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16- It's good to see a mix of ages as well.- Oh, yes.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19I thought, "I'm going to be like an old granny when I come",
0:42:19 > 0:42:20but I'm not.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25I think moving along in chorus when we're all sort of
0:42:25 > 0:42:27stepping at the same time,
0:42:27 > 0:42:31it's a strong picture, a very strong sound.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35They're some of my favourite bits in the entire piece,
0:42:35 > 0:42:39and when the professional girls are dancing all in synch, it's fantastic.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42The sounds they're making and the way they're moving is great.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45I'm curious about Saturday.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50I think it'll be a little bit mad but it should be fun.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59His cloggers have all left, but for Charles, the evening isn't over.
0:43:04 > 0:43:08- Can you do that?- I'm definitely up for trying.- Excellent, excellent.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Um, pah, um, pah...
0:43:13 > 0:43:18Charles has planned his mass clog dance to contain moments for special features.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Newcastle Kingsmen will provide one, Brenda Walker's dancers another
0:43:22 > 0:43:27and Charles has now decided to use some of the steps he's learnt to dance a solo.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33- Oh!- At the 11th hour! At the last hurdle.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35- So close, so close.- Then...?
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Then there's a little break, which looks quite different to this step.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43So I thought for you, it could go something like, um...
0:43:48 > 0:43:52- Dum-pah-bum, dum-pah-bum. - Da-dah, click, click.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55Dum-pah-bum...
0:43:55 > 0:43:58- An elephant!- You're doing two feet.
0:43:58 > 0:43:59Put your leg there.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02And leave it there. Yeah, yeah.
0:44:02 > 0:44:07This kick that Charles is struggling with was made famous by Charlie Chaplin.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11- More like that? - It was the signature move of his character, the Little Tramp.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14Yes!
0:44:21 > 0:44:26So it's this way - dum-bah-dum, dum-bah-dum, ah, ah.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29Yes. Exactly.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31'I think it's important that I do this,
0:44:31 > 0:44:36'however much my tired old body doesn't feel like it's set up for it, because...'
0:44:36 > 0:44:41all these people, all these fantastic people who've committed to this,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44virtually all of them have never done it before.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47In fact, an awful lot of them wouldn't have seen the point in doing it
0:44:47 > 0:44:52if we hadn't kind of, you know, pushed them so hard to take part.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54Now they're on and they're really on it.
0:44:54 > 0:44:59I think it would be not just inappropriate but mean of me
0:44:59 > 0:45:02not to put myself out there as well.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09- Ah! It's that voice that says, "No, you can't! No, you can't!"- You can.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Yes, you can! One more, please, Laura.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15One, two, three, four...
0:45:26 > 0:45:30In the early years of the 20th century, clog dance all but died out.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35Music hall was on the wane, and tap, a more flamboyant dance,
0:45:35 > 0:45:39making full use of the upper body, made clog seem old-fashioned.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45But as old traditions were fading away, folk revivalists,
0:45:45 > 0:45:52led by the newly formed English Folk Dance and Song Society, determined to keep the traditions alive.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57In this revival period, one person was the face of clog dance.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59Local boy Jackie Toaduff.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Jackie is Laura's hero, and now with the big event just around the corner,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11she wants to show Charles why Jackie Toaduff is so special.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15- Come on in.- Thank you very much.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20This is the film that I watched when I was doing my final performance on the degree course,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23and I discovered this brilliant video,
0:46:23 > 0:46:29and was mesmerised and had to learn it immediately, so let's pop it in.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42Here, Jackie's dancing at the Royal Albert Hall in 1964,
0:46:42 > 0:46:46a venue he performed at no less than 18 times.
0:46:48 > 0:46:49Throughout the 1950s,
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Jackie represented English folk dance in festivals across Europe.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56He danced with Princess Margaret on two separate occasions
0:46:56 > 0:46:58and took clog dance around the globe,
0:46:58 > 0:47:01hobnobbing with movie stars and politicians.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09He's just got such elation going through him. Velvet britches.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Yep.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16So he changes from hornpipe to reel just with a few stamps.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20There he goes.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- Up tempo. Woo!- Great, isn't it?
0:47:22 > 0:47:24- Real hoedown now.- Yeah.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I love that the audience are clapping before he's even finished.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31Absolutely, and this is in dry old London.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35APPLAUSE
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Although she admired him when she was a student,
0:47:37 > 0:47:42Laura actually met Jackie for the first time just six months ago.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47Jackie is... he's my biggest influence, my hero.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52A little bit like when girls would swoon at George Clooney,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54I swoon at Jackie Toaduff.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56He's such a dapper man.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I just thought I want to dance like him.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01So probably my main influence, really.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04He was exciting, as you know, I couldn't take my eyes off it.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11Jackie has long since hung up his clogs.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16Now aged 77, he lives in happy retirement in a hotel in Dronfield, in Derbyshire.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21- Here he is.- Hello. - Hello, Jackie.- How are you doing?
0:48:21 > 0:48:24- Very good, thank you. - I remember you.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27- Nice to see you.- Laura and Charles want their project
0:48:27 > 0:48:30to get the approval of the last great clog dancer.
0:48:30 > 0:48:36I started off my dancing days as a tap-dancer,
0:48:36 > 0:48:41but as soon as I heard the rhythms of the clog dance,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45I fell in love with clog dancing.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47So you started out as a tap-dancer.
0:48:47 > 0:48:54Yes, I did, from the age of six, having secret tap-dancing lessons, because I was a coal miner's son.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56So your parents were very opposed.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Very much so.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01My future, as far as they were concerned, was as a coal miner.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05Like my father was and like my brothers.
0:49:05 > 0:49:11I had to be a coal miner like everybody else, and dancing of any kind, really, was for girls.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14When I insisted on dancing, my mother used to say,
0:49:14 > 0:49:20"Oh, no, he's at it again - wants to learn to dance.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24"Should have been a girl, you know. Definitely should have been a girl."
0:49:24 > 0:49:26Then I became a coal miner.
0:49:26 > 0:49:32When I was 14-years-old, I went down the coal mine, and I worked down there for 12 years.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36I left the pit when I was 26 years old,
0:49:36 > 0:49:41and my first engagement was a season in Jersey, in the Channel Islands,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46because coming out of that coal mine
0:49:46 > 0:49:50and realising I hadn't to go down that black hole again
0:49:50 > 0:49:53was magic to me.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56It was, as I say,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59from black-and-white into glorious Technicolor.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03Jackie left the pits far behind and now rarely returns to County Durham.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06- You should come up.- Come up.- Yeah.
0:50:06 > 0:50:07Not that I can dance now.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10No, no, you don't have to do any dancing,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14but you might find it so infectious that you want to join in, you never know.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- Thanks a lot, Jackie.- Thank you.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19- See you at the weekend. - That's it!- See you there.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Hey - pinching my steps again!
0:50:29 > 0:50:33Today, the people of central Newcastle
0:50:33 > 0:50:38will witness an unprecedented event in the history of the Northeast.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46For the first time, all of Charles's flash mob cloggers are gathering together.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49140 men and women from across the Northeast,
0:50:49 > 0:50:53about to launch a huge surprise on Newcastle's Saturday shoppers.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56Bit nervous,
0:50:56 > 0:50:59but I'm sure it'll be all right once we get up there.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02Ready. Ready for it.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04I'm looking forward to doing it.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08I'm just excited to do it and get out and see people's faces!
0:51:09 > 0:51:13Charles's clog dance will last about four minutes.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17First, a mass dance will draw in the crowd.
0:51:17 > 0:51:23Then there will be a series of feature moments, from Brenda Walker, the Kingsmen and others.
0:51:23 > 0:51:28Finally, everyone will disappear back into the crowd, as though they had never been there.
0:51:28 > 0:51:33OK, ladies and gentlemen, I'm just so, so delighted, utterly delighted,
0:51:33 > 0:51:38that each and every one of you has decided to throw yourselves behind this quixotic mission -
0:51:38 > 0:51:43a mission to reignite people with the great spirit of clog dancing.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46Here is to Flash Mob Clog Dance!
0:51:46 > 0:51:49CHEERING
0:53:13 > 0:53:16MUSIC PLAYS
0:54:11 > 0:54:15CHEERING
0:55:18 > 0:55:19MEN: Hey!
0:56:38 > 0:56:42That was amazing. It was so much fun. I loved every single minute of it.
0:56:42 > 0:56:43- Absolutely fantastic.- Brilliant.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46I can still feel the drum roll in my head.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48It was just such a great atmosphere.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50The amount of people that gathered round was unbelievable.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53I don't think we expected the response we were going to get.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56I could see so many phones, everyone got their phones out,
0:56:56 > 0:56:59and they were recording it to show their friends.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I could hear people walking past going, "I want to do that."
0:57:02 > 0:57:03So, I think everyone liked it.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08I think I'm going to try and find a clog-dancing class, it's as simple as that.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11I absolutely love it. I'm addicted now. Addicted to clogging.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15- Get your clogs on!- Get your clogs on and go clog dancing.
0:57:15 > 0:57:16You dark horse!
0:57:18 > 0:57:24I found it so wonderful and inspiring, and I think everybody should dance after that.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27But it really brought tears to my eyes.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29It was so thrilling.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31I want to do it again now.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33Going to start all over again.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39What I hope we've achieved today is that however many hundred people came to watch
0:57:39 > 0:57:45now know that clog dancing isn't a boring folk tradition.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49I would hope that people could see all of our lot having such a good time,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53and it's our tradition and we could be proud of it.
0:57:53 > 0:57:59We all entered into the mad spirit of a mad endeavour, and people just threw themselves at it.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03There couldn't have been more commitment from anybody, as far as I could see.
0:58:03 > 0:58:08Every last person giving it their absolute all, their pores were oozing rhythm.
0:58:08 > 0:58:14It was loud, it was proud, it was brash, and it had enormous heart.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:41 > 0:58:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk