This is known as the single shuffle, and it is surprising how many music hall artists and public performers know no more than this rudimentary movement. Yet it shows how necessary it is to be perfectly easy and familiar with the action, which may be considered, together with the double shuffle, as the ground-work of the art.
The double shuffle is simply a duplication of the single shuffle. Each foot goes forward and backwards twice, making four taps for the right and four for the left, or eight taps in all. This is really no harder than the single shuffle, and must be learned as thoroughly. Indeed, it is wise to practice no more steps until these two shuffles have been perfectly mastered.
Having grown familiar with the steps already described, it is time to learn some of the variations of the two shuffles. Begin with the single shuffle and
Variation No. 1.
—Stand upon the toes of both feet, give one tap with the left toe, and a single shuffle with the right foot. Then one tap with the right, and a single shuffle with the left. Keep this up continuously, and as clearly and rapidly as possible, taking care that the beats are all equal, and that no one tap is louder than any of the others.
The result will be a continuous roll, like that of a drum, and is very effective.
Variation No. 2.
—Give one tap with the left foot, and a shuffle with the right, as in the preceding step, then hop on the left, tap with the right, shuffle with the left, and hop on the right. This makes eight taps in all, and produces another continuous roll. By pausing on the hop each time, another step is apparently introduced, and the smooth action is varied pleasantly.
The hopping mentioned above does not mean a skip into the air. It is simply employed to give a tap, and is more for the sake of appearance than for actual sound. It can therefore be replaced by making a tap with the heel, which is in itself a prominent feature in the Clog Dance. Indeed the tap from the heel is often preferable as being more characteristic and elegant than the hop, which has to be done most gracefully to look at all well.