Clogging With Champions

(CBS)  Clogging Champion Melinda Murphy dances onto The Early Show just in time for next weekend's Grand Clogging Championship in Maggie Valley, N.C. She shares a few steps.

America's Clogging Hall of Fame is dedicated to the preservation of the old-time square dance and clogging, and this weekend hundreds of dancers of all ages will be there, vying for the grand champion title.

Clogging was brought to the Appalachian Mountain region by Irish, Scottish, English, Dutch, and German settlers in the mid 1700s. Clog is a Gaelic word meaning 'time.' The dancing keeps time with the music.

Clogging is not necessarily performed in wooden shoes. The English wear wooden clogs with leather uppers, while Irish dancers wear leather-soled shoes with taps.

Clogging is one of the few dances that is considered a competitive sport; dancers perform at state and national events.

Tap dancing certainly draws influence from clogging but differs in one key respect; in clogging, the heel keeps the downbeat while tap generally follows the melody.