Bailey Tucker, Third-Generation Member of the International Folk Dance Ensemble, Wins State and National Awards
Bailey Tucker has been clogging almost since she could walk. Because her parents own a dance studio in Utah County and teach clogging to folk dancers, Tucker has spent her life around dancers, in studios and on stage. She has been performing this style of percussive footwork at the professional level since she was eight years old, making her the youngest professional clogger in the country at the time. Now, Tucker is a third-generation member of the International Folk Dance Ensemble (IFDE) at BYU, and she is winning state and national awards for her clogging.
Tucker explains clogging as a “small but passionate world.” Cloggers compete in various categories, including solo, duet, freestyle and acapella. “One of the most coveted awards is freestyle, specifically female freestyle — it is very competitive,” Tucker said. In this category, all of the dancers stand in a line, awaiting their chance to impress the judges with five improvised 8-counts. “You are doing your own choreography,” she elaborated. “It is your time to shine and show your best clogging.”
This April, Tucker won the Overall Female Freestyle Senior at the Utah State Clogging Championships put on by America On Stage. “That was the first time I've ever taken the state title for that category,” Tucker said, “and it was so exciting to be amongst my peers for this win.” This win was just the beginning of a monumental year for Tucker’s dancing.
The next month, on May 9 and 10, Tucker competed in the Clogging National Championships held by the same company in Farmington, Utah; her goal was to win the MVP award for all-around solos. In this category, there are four different 32-count solos, and the entire organization learns the same set of choreography. Tucker explained that “this is one of the trickiest categories to compete in. It is the only category where the judges know exactly what you are supposed to do and what sounds to expect.”
While Tucker had danced in the top ten finalists for this category before, she had never won. “This year, I wanted it more than anything. But I can only control what I put into my practice and what I put out on stage — the rest is up to the judges.”
When her name was announced as the all-around solo winner at nationals, Tucker was shocked. “The moment that my name was called, I was in tears. I did not know what I was feeling; how do you explain what you feel when your dreams come true?”
When Tucker won, even her competitors were excited and congratulated her. “The clogging community is so special because we all cheer for each other,” she explained. “When I won, it was so special to have the overwhelming support of everybody there. I am very lucky to be surrounded by such a supportive community that is willing to uplift me and cheer me on.”
In July, Tucker will accompany the IFDE to Italy — read more about that experience in our upcoming experiential learning roundup.
