Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 5, 1993 TAG: 9303050326
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WORLD TRAVELER
Over the years, Pearlie Reynolds has placed first, second, third, sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th in dance at the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax.Her flatfooting has taken the Fieldale resident to Nice, France, and London as an ambassador of American culture.
And at the national Hee Haw Dance Competition in Nashville in 1984, Reynolds placed second in her age group. Her dance team, the Patrick Henry Travelers, placed 10th of 568 competing.
But for Reynolds, the highest honor came last year when she was inducted into America's Clogging Hall of Fame. "That's about as high as you can get," said Reynolds.
One of 27 inductees, and the first woman, Reynolds received the honor last October at the Stompin' Ground in Maggie Valley, N.C., site of the Hall of Fame.
Reynolds will dance with the Travelers on Saturday night at Roanoke's Fiddle & Banjo Club. The club's Roanoke Civic Center concert will be from 7 to 11 p.m., and Reynolds and her team will dance from 9:20 to 9:40.
Clogging - also known as flatfooting and buck dancing - comes from the Highland jig. "It's older than the United States," said Dan Angel, who founded the Hall of Fame in 1981. "It came over with the first settlers."
There are two styles of clogging - Southern Appalachian and precision clogging. The traditional Southern Appalachian is free-style dance, explained Angel, of Toccoa, Ga. "The dancer does what he feels like doing. He lets his feet do the talking."
Precision clogging started in the early 1950s. All the dancers start from a set position, do the same steps throughout the routine and end on the same step.
"Pearlie's always been a traditionalist," said Bob Johnson of Chesapeake, a fellow inductee who nominated Reynolds for the Hall of Fame.
Reynolds, 61, learned to dance from her father. She and her four sisters danced while their father pretended to play a stick of stove wood.
But when she was 14, her mother made fun of her dancing. "She said I looked like an old turkey coming off a nest." Reynolds said it was five years before she would dance in front of anyone again.
She was in her 20s when she began dancing seriously and competing. "I was so tickled [with] the first ribbon I won," about 33 years ago at a fiddlers convention in Robbins, N.C., she said.
"I could hardly wait to tell daddy. He didn't believe me at first." Then he began going with her and sometimes they'd dance together. Now she has a whole case full of trophies and ribbons.
Reynolds helped start the Patrick Henry Travelers in 1977 when her daughter, Elaine Gordon, and a friend wanted to start a group and dance at a bluegrass festival in Stuart. Reynolds has directed the group ever since.
The group dances every other month at the Fiddle & Banjo Club in Roanoke. In 1986, the group and some musicians from the Club were invited to be guests of the city of Nice, France, to perform at a Mardi Gras festival.
Two years later, nine members of the Travelers traveled to London to promote tourism for Virginia. "We had to dance 15 minutes non-stop. Now that's the hardest thing I've ever done," Reynolds said. "Our routines are four to six minutes, and we gave slap out."
\ "If anybody would have told me 25 years ago that clogging would be as popular as it is today I would have called them crazy," said Angel, the Hall of Fame founder. Flatfooting was only seen in small towns in Appalachia, he said. "But today it's worldwide, thanks to people like Pearlie."
Indeed, Reynolds was inducted into the Hall of Fame - not for her considerable talent - but for her dedication and efforts in preserving the art of clogging. Prerequisites for the honor include being an American citizen over age 35, at least 25 years of involvement in clogging, and a proven love for and dedication to the preservation of Southern Appalachian clogging.
"She is the person responsible for many thousands of people being in clogging today," said Angel. "We're honored to have her in our organization."
In addition to her involvement with her own group, Reynolds directs competitions for the annual Harvest Jubilee in Danville and the Farm and Home Show in Reidsville, N.C. She has taught dancing for 20 years.
\ "She's always doing things for different people," said Walter Bousman of Ridgeway, who's known Reynolds for years. One Saturday night in January found
\ This is where the story ended in the paper.
Memo: Correction ***CORRECTION***