There are lots of talented dancers online, from ballroom to tap, to street, to morris dancing. However, there are still videos that can surprise you and Lauren and Kaylee Thomas’ performance is certainly that. They are championship-winning clog dancers. If you’re not sure what clogging is, Ridge Runner Cloggers describe it as:
“Clogging is an energetic percussive style of dance where the dancer wears shoes with special taps attached.” Clog dancing is a popular sport, and if this is your introduction, you need to watch Lauren and Kaylee in action. The video below was recorded at the 2016 Clogging Champions of America Showdown of Champions.
The video shows the contemporary part of the competition, although the girls competed in the traditional part too. It’s a duet dance off and the two girls are incredible!
To look at them you might think they are twins, but actually, Kaylee is two years older than Lauren. They are both blonde, and cute as buttons and when they perform they dress in identical outfits so it’s an easy mistake to make. Another thing they have in common is that their feet move like lightning!
When the video begins, there are six pairs lined up on stage ready for the dance-off. Lauren and Kaylee are at their jazzy best in black tops and sparkly trousers. Even though there are other couples dancing Lauren and Kaylee draw your eye. They are perfectly in sync for every second of their performance. They kick, spin, and perform complicated arm twists together. It’s a mind-boggling routine and their energy is just unbelievable.
You won’t be surprised to hear that this was not the girls’ first competition. They have won the national championships fifteen times! They don’t look old enough to have won that often but they did start young. They were born in Berea, Kentucky and Lauren was only three years old when she started clogging, while Kaylee was five.
They proved to be gifted and were soon good enough to start competing. They swept the board locally and soon progressed to national championships. Although there are types of clog dancing in many other countries, this style is unique to the USA, so unfortunately we won’t see the girls competing internationally. However, as well as their clogging the girls do need to have downtime and get their education so this may be a blessing in disguise.
As well as competitions the girls also appeared on a Nickelodeon show called Figure It Out and an updated version of The Gong Show. It’s quite a career for two girls who were still children for the majority of it. Many siblings would not get on well enough to spend so much time training together, but Lauren and Kaylee have a deep sisterly bond and love of dancing that overcomes any bickering.
It seems likely that as they get older their lives may diverge a little, but it seems certain their dance history will ensure they stay close. If you haven’t seen enough from the talented duo, check out their performance to a medley of the Greatest Showman. If you would like to see more from Clogging Champions Of America, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel.