Introduction
Ottawa Valley Canadian Step Dancing is a type of dance that is most commonly found in Ontario, Canada. Many years ago, lumberjacks would finish a long day of work with a night of dancing and music. Because many of these workers were immigrants from Europe, they brought with them some of their traditional dance styles. These styles are mixed with tap dancing and French-Canadian dancing to come up with a unique style of dance know as Ottawa Valley Step Dance. For those who do not know what this style of dance is, it is best described as a mix of Irish and tap dancing. It is an entertaining and aggressive dance style where your feet lift quite high off the floor and your arms are not restricted to only being at the side. Most commonly, steps are danced to a clog, jig, or reel. However, you can step dance to almost any song you want! Ottawa Valley Step Dancing has a very interesting history. Here is a brief history on Ottawa Valley Step Dancing:
"Ottawa Valley Style step dancing originated in the Ottawa Valley which includes a large area North of Ottawa and a small area across the river on the Quebec side. This dance is very different than the other two styles of step dancing, but still has influences from the Scottish and Irish. The Ottawa Valley style is characterized by the constant aggressiveness of the dance and the steps are danced high off of the floor. The better dancers include a wide variety of steps and different moves in their routines so that no step looks similar to another. The dancers’ legs look very "rubber like" and much coordination is required of the legs, feet and ankles. A distinguishing factor in this style is that there, is use of the dancers arms. Arms are controlled to an extent but because this dance is done high off of the floor, arms are placed out from the dancers body and are used to naturally flow with the dancers movements. This emphasizes the aggressiveness and energy of the dance and is as much a part of the dance as the feet are. Both men and women dance the same dances and also compete against one another in contests."
Task
Step Dancing follows a popular pattern of an eight-bar step. Four bars are danced on the right foot followed by the same thing on the left foot. The term "step" most commonly includes both right and left foot. The most popular dances are the clog, the waltz clog, the reel, and the jig. The clog is in 4⁄4 time; the waltz clog in 3/4 time; the reel in 4/4 time; and the jig in 6/8 time. Generally a full dance routine combines several of these dances together, starting with the slowest speed, and gradually increasing in tempo. A full routine would start with a clog or a waltz clog, then a jig, and ends with a reel. The reel is the fastest and longest dance of the 4 mentioned. It is also the most physically demanding dance due to its speed, length, and intricacies. Most commonly people will dance to Old Time Fiddle, French Canadian, and Canadian Celtic music. Traditionally the music is played by a lead fiddler, and accompanied by either piano or guitar. When you attend a step dance competition, you are accompanied by a pianist and fiddler. However you can dance to any style of music or instrumentation that you want! As long as it has the correct 8-count, the music is able to be danced to. A step, whether it is a clog, jig, or reel, is 8 bars long (16 beats). In more advanced routines, you can sometimes have a double step in your routine, which is 16 bars (32 beats) long. The standard length of a routine is based on the length required for competitive dancing. A clog is made up of 4 steps (32 bars); a jig has 6 steps (48 bars), and a reel has 12 steps (96 bars).
Process
Step dancers usually dance on hardwood boards or masonite boards. Not much equipment is necessary, except for the main items which are the shoes. Canadian step dancers dance in typical leather shoes made for jazz which have a genuine leather sole. There are special taps (staccato) made from metal to amplify the sound. The taps include two pieces of the metal held together by a rivet to create the "clicking" noise made by the dancers. These taps are placed on both the toes and the heels of the shoes and are held on with either small nails or screw nails and a special glue. In general, step dancing is a very low cost sport or hobby.
Step dancing is traditionally danced along to fiddle music, but how do you know when to start dancing?
Canadian fiddle music generally repeats in 8 bar segments which perfectly fit the 8 bar dance step! Sometimes the lead instrumentalist (most commonly a fiddler) will play a 4-count (2 bars) pick-up phrase leading into the start of the song. Among dancers this is referred to as “4 potatoes”. If there is no pick-up played, then you must be familiar with the tune and recognize when the 8 bar musical pattern once again begins. Once you hear the pattern, you start dancing your step at any repeat of the 8-bar pattern.
How old do you need to be to start dancing?
Children as young as 3 or 4 years old learn to step dance. At step dance competitions there are different age categories, starting at “6 years and under” group, all the way up to “65 and over” group. Many people learn to dance when they are young, but it is never too late to start!
What shoes should I wear?
Step dance shoes can be the exact same as tap shoes, there are ones with solid one-piece taps and there are others with douple taps. There are many styles to choose from. The most common brads are Capezio, Bloch, and Ben & Miller tap shoes . The shoes will generally come with a solid one-piece tap. Traditionally in step dancing, the dancers would wear a double tap (Selva Staccato or Bell taps). This gives the dancing its unique sound.
What should I dance on?
Masonite is a good inexpensive dance surface to purchase. You don’t need an extremely large surface to dance on, especially when you are first starting out. A good size is a 4x4 piece of board that is about a 1⁄4 inch thick. You can usually get this from your local hardware store. A carpet underlay or any shock-absorbent material would be good to put under the board if you are dancing on a hard surface that has little or no give (e.g. cement or pavement).
Evaluation
Competing is used to encourage dancers to dance and it also helps keep the tradition alive. Contests are mostly made up of solo dancers; however, there are categories for group dance. Solo dancers are required to dance a routine made up of a clog, jig and reel danced in that order. The routine cannot go over 4 minutes or a bell will ring and judging will cease at that time and the dancer will have marks reduced. Competitors are judged 25% on timing, 25% on variety of steps meaning that the steps in the routine incorporate different footwork and different beats. 25% percent of the mark is on the execution of steps or how clean they are, and the last 25% is on showmanship which takes the presentation to a whole new level.
Conclusion
Contests are a big focus for many step dancers. Cardiovascular fitness, improved muscle tone, a fitter body, weight loss, and a decrease in stress levels of participants are a few of benefits of step dance. It can be done by individuals at all levels of physical ability. Because step dancing programs can be individualized based on skill and ability, everyone, including those who are disabled, can enjoy the benefits of this exercise.