Matt Ellinger is a teacher educator and researcher with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Stanford University. He grew up in Austin, Texas as the youngest of nine children. He took a lot of dance as a child, but settled on tap dancing until he finally found clogging in his mid-twenties. It was just like tap, but with fewer rules!
Matt is also a percussionist, so he finds rhythms of clogging to be a great fit and a great joy as a dancer. He began performing with the Barbary Coast Cloggers in 1991. Slowly, he became more accomplished at clogging and now teaches the dance-form throughout California and has served as the Artistic Director the Barbary Coast Cloggers since 1999. "I love BCC and everything it represents - everyday men from all walks of life coming together to dance. I love our presence in San Francisco, and I feel that we have earned the respect of presenters, festivals, and a diverse audience due to our high-energy spin on the dance form and our exuberant yet highly polished presence on stage."
Matt used to be a volunteer ranger for the California State Parks and an elementary school principal for three years.
