Cost $30 person / free light refreshments For ages 12 and up
Space is limited. Pre-registration is highly recommended
or Pay-at-the-Door (RSVP) info@urbanhomestead.org or call us at 626 844 4586
PrePay (see ticket link )and receive a coupon for 10% OFF a dance board
Event Details:
For the first time ever in Los Angeles! Rebecca Stout introduces ASPS Flatfooting 101, the only traditional flatfoot dance class officially sanctioned by the *ASPS Dance Company.
:: Class Description::
ASPS Flat-footing 101 : – Straight from the mountains of Appalachia this beginner friendly class introduces the student to the funny stories, history, culture, styles, steps and all-out fun of Appalachian percussive step dance. There will be demonstrations, practice sessions, questions, and music for all to enjoy. Water and light snacks will be provided. No partner or dance experience necessary! The student learns the Soldier’s March, Jimmy, Mitchell, Bowman, Leaf Shuffle, Zig Zags, Chugs, Nashville, Coleman and Buck Step. 2hr 15min.
While no special shoes are required, Rebecca recommends a shoe with a hard, slick sole, such as a man's business shoe, penny-loafers, cowboy boots, granny-boots, oxfords or simple slippers. Flip-flops, sandals and crocs are not recommended.
*ASPS, standing for Appalachian Step Percussion Services is a small, North Carolina based company founded in 2008 by Mr. T. Paul Anderegg. The ASPS Dance Company provides ducational services, products, and programs through out the USA in areas related to traditional Appalachian percussive dance, also known as "flatfooting or "buck dancing. This year, the ASPS Dance Company introduced it's “ASPS Learn” stamp. This stamp recognizes instructors, programs and products for having a standardized system which has been found to improve learning experiences for students. High customer service, high value products and innovative product and program development has been core to the company’s growing success. Rebecca's newly released, "Becky's Barnyard Buckdance" is the first instructional dvd of it's kind to carry this quality label. Rebecca currently participates in the ASPS mentorship program as an apprentice to Mr. Anderegg.
:: Bio ::
Los Angeles-based Appalachian flatfoot dance instructor Rebecca Stout began clogging as a child in Cordele, Georgia, as part of the community mountain-style clogging group The Dixieland Cloggers. She went on to spend the next three decades developing and fine-tuning her unique "Tennessee Shuffle" style of free-form flatfoot and buck dance, inspired by friends, relations, masters and mentors throughout Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Today, Rebecca teaches and performs traditional Appalachian dance with a focus on dance as a percussive instrument. She encourages students to develop their own personal style built on a firm foundation of A.S.P.S. Flatfoot 101 basics.
"There was never a question that I would sing and dance," says Rebecca. "In my family, it was about the same as breathing air or drinking water."
As the middle of seven children who all sang and played instruments, Rebecca learned early on that clogging, singing and flatfoot dancing were great parlor tricks for garnering the extra attention so hard to come by in a big family. By age six, she was performing on stage, singing alongside her singer/songwriter mother at music festivals, V.F.W. Dance Halls and R.V. Campground tourist traps throughout Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. "It was always my job to do a little buck-dance routine in the middle of the show," says Rebecca. "Then go out and collect tips from the audience with a milk jug."
Her early dance training began in rural Georgia when her mother signed her up for clogging classes with a local "club" called The Dixieland Cloggers. when the family moved to Tennessee the following year, she continued her lessons with Sumner County's Corn Crib Cloggers and graduated from her first course in 1983 with an official diploma from the College of Double Toe, Double Toe, Toe, Stomp! and, became a "Bachelor of Clogging".
By the time she was 14, Rebecca's official clogging days had ended and her love affair with traditional Appalachian flatfoot had begun. "In the South, clogging is considered a precision, competition sport," says Rebecca. "I wasn't interested in competition; I just wanted to dance and have fun with the band!"
As a professional singer, songwriter and rapper, Rebecca considered clogging, flatfoot and percussive dance something she did just for fun: "You know, like hula hooping. You show up at a party, the music sounds good, so you start to dance!"
It wasn't until she moved to Southern California in 2003 that she realized her calling as a teacher. "People had been suggesting I teach flatfoot for years, but I didn't think of it as a unique skill while living in the southeast. It's so common there and so many folks are familiar with it that it just seemed like old hat. But when I moved out west, I realized what a special gift I was given to have grown up immersed in such deep culture. Now, I feel it's my legacy and responsibility to keep this tradition alive by passing it on to people wherever go."
Via Flatfoot and Fancy Free
