Miscues and the Cuties
Seniors can always find something interesting and fun to do. My wife and I helped start an exhibition clog team. Initially the goal was to get some much needed exercise and to entertain some of the special groups such as nursing homes in our free time, but it developed into to much more than that. I would encourage all seniors to get into some activities such as this as it will give you much enjoyment and you will love it. Here is our story.
Miscues and the Cuties
From about 1989 to 1998′ my wife and I clog danced with a exhibition clog dance team called “Miscues and the Cuties”. We started with some borrowed costumes and evolved into one of the most colorful clog groups around. As the name implies, the men were the “Miscues”and the ladies were the”Cuties”. The group was was composed of older couples who ranged in age from 50 to 70 years old. Our team practiced once per week in the evening. We started out doing volunteer exhibition dances after work and on the week ends for nursing homes, mental facilities, the cancer center, hospitals, and other such places.
Our first exhibition was at “Home of Hope” in Vanita, Oklahomai. We borrowed the costumes in the picture below from a group called the Clogging Mamas and there was only one mans costume. If you’ll notice in the picture, old Hawg Jaw Bill is the “Cutie” in the red tights. The children there just loved our performance and we performed for them every year after that.
Our group continued to evolve over the first couple of years until we were doing three to five 1 hour long exhibition performances a week. We had expanded to also include Bluegrass Chili Fest, Frontier Days, October Fest, Kilache Fest, and most of the other fests within a hundred miles of Tulsa. We now had several outfits, our own sound system, and I started choreographing our own dances. My daughters were both clog dancers and they were always with us, so they started giving guest performances at nearly all the exhibitions. Also, one of our dancers husband had a wonderful singing voice and he started singing one song at each performance to give us a break.
By this time we had gained a lot of notoriety in the area, and we started getting requests for paid performances which we accepted. We used the money to maintain equipment, buy costumes, and go out to dinner occasionally as a group. Towards the end are our reign, we were requested to do a show at the Governors Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was probably the best paid performance we ever did. We got to shake hands with a lot of dignitaries and had a ball. Our daughters performed with us and they were personally complemented by several of the visiting state governors. Oh, they had great barbeque and all the free beer we could drink after the show.
This was a period of our lives we will always remember. If you haven’t tried clogging, find someplace that gives lessons. You’ll love it and it is extremely good exercise.
Miscues and the Cuties first exhibition dance at Home of Hope in Vanita, Oklahoma. I’m the Cutie in red tights.
Miscues and the Cuties getting ready to perform at the Bluegrass Chili Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Miscues and the Cuties in the studio for a picture.
Miscues and the Cuties in 1996 at the Kilache Festival in Prague, Oklahoma.
The Cuties at the Kilache Festival in 1996.
Bill and Linda clog dancing at the Kilache Festival in 1996