Pat Tracey Heel and Toe Style

Often known in clog dance circles as “Old Lancs” style, these appear to have been the first steps, in 4/4/ rhythm, which Pat began teaching.  This style of dance became the core of her teaching and performance for many years and was the style with which she is perhaps best known.

Pat learned this material both from her mother, Sally Nutter, who could trace many steps back to Pat’s great uncle, and also from contacts with local dancers. Unfortunately at this stage it is not possible to unravel which step units came from which source.

Traditionally this style was danced by “corner boys” in the areas around Nelson and Colne, Lancashire who frequented street corners and augumented (or perhaps gained) their income by dancing.  Clearly a very informal style although Pat also utilised steps in a more formal “stage dance” routine.

In the late 1960s a set of six of these steps became part of the Reading Step and Traditional Dance Group’s repertoire and a notation for that routine survives, written by RSTDG member Alan Pittwood.  Subsequently Pat created three distinct routines for teaching and performance purposes, simply named A, B and C, of increasing difficulty, although there is some cross-over of material between the routines.

Pat also taught a waltz routine utilising heel and toe steps.  It is not known from what source(s) this dance derives.

The IRT has yet to publish Pat’s material although much can be accessed via the manuscript and film links below.

The following film material is available:

1.  Pat dancing a selection of her heel and toe steps which she characterised as a “stage dance” in 1982.
2.  Pat dancing a selection of her heel and toe steps in 1982.
3.  Pat performing some of her heel and toe steps at Leyland in 1984.
4.  Pat performing a silent heel and toe routine at the Reading Day of Dance in 1986.
5.  Pat dancing her “A” routine for an instructional video in 1990-1991.
6.  Pat dancing her “B” routine for an instructional video in 1990-1991.
7.  Pat dancing her “C” routine for an instructional video in 1990-1991.
8.  Pat dancing a heel and toe routine at the Reading Day of Dance in 1990

Information derived from the films referred to together with interviews with Pat on 22/3/1980 and 14/3/1981.