History | Ontario Rhythm Clog

Dorothy and Jack McCulloch

The Grandparents of

Canadian Clogging

Tracing the Evolution of the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers

In June 1977, Jack and Dorothy McCulloch went to Atlantic City where they saw their first clogging demonstration, presented by Gloria and Wade Driver.

In January 1978, they went to Houston, Texas where the Drivers had their main club called the Texas Rhythm Cloggers. This gave Dorothy the idea for the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers name. They spent two weeks with the Drivers learning all they could about clogging.

When Dorothy and Jack returned from Texas, they put some demos together for some of the square dancing groups in their hometown of London in order to generate some interest in clogging. Once they had enough members, they started a group and called it the London Ontario Rhythm Cloggers.

Due to the interest expressed in the Kitchener/Cambridge area, Dorothy agreed to teach a class. After a practice hall was found, classes began on October 24, 1978 in Cambridge with 36 members. Over the next 17 years, the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers blossomed, making their mark nationwide through festivals, TV appearances, workshops, and demonstrations.

During this time, Dorothy was instrumental in forming the following groups in Canada:

Toronto Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Dorothy's sister, Sylvia Hunka
Saskatchewan Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Dorothy's sister, Marlene Jerred
Alberta Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Hope Pennock
Nova Scotia Rhythm Cloggers, under the direction of Linda Quinn

The name, Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, was retired in December 1995 upon Jack and Dorothy's retirement from teaching. The club was taken over by Art Murphy in January 1996. Art led the club under the name Swift Kickin' Cloggers until he retired in the spring of 2001.

The following September, Colleen Zurbrigg, who began dancing with the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers in 1979, established a new group called the Kitcheloo Kloggers in Kitchener.

In September 2002, the Kitcheloo Kloggers hosted the 25th Anniversary of Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, where Dorothy passed down the banner for the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers to Colleen and announced that the name was once again alive and well under her leadership. In 2005, Colleen took over the reigns of the Stars in Motion Cloggers in Brantford. Colleen and her dancers are proud to carry on the long history of the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers.

2nd Canadian National Square and Round Dance Convention

Ottawa, Ontario, 1980

Wade and Gloria Drive, with Their daughter, Tiffany

2015

International Villages Festival

Brantford, Ontario, 2016

The Feet Behind the Beats

Our Instructor

Colleen Zurbrigg,

Certified Clogging Instructor

At the age of four, Colleen started her dancing career with Canadian step dancing, traditional and Ottawa Valley styles. She began old time square dancing shortly thereafter. During her younger years, she competed at many step dancing and square dancing competitions throughout Ontario and won several awards during that time. In 1979, Colleen started clogging with the Ontario Rhythm Cloggers, in Cambridge, Ontario, as well as modern square dancing with the Howick Country Squares. In recent years, she has taken Celtic, ballroom and tap dancing and line dancing lessons and, after a long hiatus, has returned to Ottawa Valley style step dancing and line dancing.

Since she began clogging, Colleen has danced with many groups including: the Kountry Kickin' Kids, the Cambridge Connection Cloggers, the Stars in Motion Cloggers. the Swift Kickin' Cloggers and the Can-Am Cloggers (a competition group). As a member of the Can-Am Cloggers, she has won the Canadian Open Clogging Competition several times. In 2001, Colleen started her own clogging club, the Kitcheloo Kloggers, in Kitchener, Ontario and in 2005, she took over the leadership of the Stars in Motion Cloggers, in Brantford, Ontario.

Colleen joined the Western New York Cloggers Association in 2009 and became a member of the Board of Directors in 2015.

In November of 2010, Colleen became one of the elite few clogging directors in Canada who has taken and passed the course to become a Certified Clogging Instructor. She is also a member of the CCI team who teaches and mentors new students taking the course.

For more information about the Certified Clogging Intructors (CCI) program, click on the CCI logo.