In 2020, when the pandemic began to affect artists, Appalachian musician, dancer, and activist Carla Gover’s string band was forced to cancel its tour of Wales including: Ireland, Serbia, and Mexico. Gover was inspired to find a new way to share her work.
The Eastern Kentucky native started teaching flatfooting and clogging online, where she continues to share traditional dance with a worldwide audience.
Carla Gover is warming up to teach a live online class where she combines clogging and flatfooting. For 30 years, she’s taught this form of dance at festivals or in six-week sessions. But on this Tuesday, she’s set up in a room at her Lexington home. Her cousin, Art Mize accompanies her with his fiddle.
Depending on what day it is, Gover might be involved as artistic director for a play, recording a podcast, teaching dance, or playing the banjo.
Whatever the modality of the day happens to be, the theme remains the same, a love of her culture.
“Everywhere in the world people have problems. But in Appalachia, there tends to be a narrative where we get defined by our problems. And so, I try to present the beauty and the dignity and the amazing parts of my culture as kind of a counterpoint to all of the misinformation that gets spread,” explains Gover.
An eighth-generation Kentuckian, Gover was born and raised in Letcher County. The award-winning musician usually travels the world with CornMaiz String Band. The bands’ concerts, canceled in 2020 due to COVID, have been rescheduled for this year. Gover has stayed busy despite the pandemic.
After being quoted in the New York Times about how artists were faring during the pandemic, Gover was invited by Grammy-winning, singer-songwriter, Janis Ian, to record a cover of Ian’s song, Better Times Will Come.
“So, she asked me to do a cover version featuring flatfooting and it was a song that she had written during the pandemic to sort of give people hope. And she asked a variety of really amazing folk-artists from around the world to cover her song. So, I did a version with my son-in-law and my two daughters that has three-part harmony, a banjo, and flatfooting in it,” said Gover.
The fifty-year-old Gover also started an online Appalachian Flatfooting and Clogging Academy. Initially, it was a creative way to keep working amid the pandemic. It’s become an unexpected joy as she continues the classes with people around the globe from Portland, Oregon to Australia.
“This community has kind of formed around the dance academy. It’s kind of counter to what you think. You think, oh it’s online, it’s going to be less connected, it’s going to be more alienating. But in certain ways, I feel like I’ve been able to connect even more deeply online. And that was a real surprise for me. I’ve made some friendships that I believe are going to keep going for a long time during the pandemic via online teaching and that’s been a real beautiful silver lining,” said Gover.
One of the people Gover connected with is Tracy Wright of Portland. Wright is a musician but said she grew up in a family that didn’t dance.
“I was what I consider sort of a non-dancer. When I was in high school, I was in a play, Annie Get Your Gun and I had to learn how to Waltz. That was the one and only time I ever did any kind of dancing,” said Wright.
But pre-covid, Wright was at a festival in Santa Barbara. She saw people clogging and was intrigued. She started searching for a place to learn, found Gover through social media, and started taking her classes about a year ago. “And I liked the way that she did the presentation where you could kind of watch it and she had it zoomed in on her feet. And I thought this is something I could actually do,” said Wright.
The 62-year-old admits it took her some time to catch on because she wasn’t used to moving. But she practiced everywhere. Her favorite place to practice - the grocery store.
“I know, this sounds really crazy but I would go with my daughter and my daughter would take a ton of time just picking out like cheese and I’d start going, pitty-pat, pitty-pat, pitty, pitty, pitty pat, and the music was playing because it’s a grocery store and pretty soon I’m dancing and my daughter would go, ‘really mom, really?’” reported Wright.
As a musician, Wright said she enjoys the idea of her feet becoming a percussive instrument.
Carla Gover affirms that is definitely, a thing.
“It’s like jazz. I’m the percussionist. This is a musical conversation I’m having. I consider myself, first and foremost a musician and I happen to make music with my feet,” said Gover.
Gover plans to offer the online classes again this March. Tracy Wright is ready.
