United We Clog! - Double Toe Times

has a history of community service. “Each
dancer in ALL THAT! has been blessed with an
incredible talent and believes in giving back and
helping those in need,” said ALL THAT member
Mike Curtis. These guys have raised thousands
of dollars for terminally ill children, held benefits
for youth sports leagues, and performed for The
Cancer Society’s Relay for life.
Since the time that the group first came together,
the different opportunities that they were given
made it difficult for some members to commit to
major moves and life changes as they pursued
individual careers, schooling or their personal
lives. ALL THAT member Kenneth Fithen, of
Kentucky, was unable to join the group for the AGT
appearance as he and his wife Kelly expected the
birth of their second child.
Because of the rules of the show,
performers are allowed to
return and audition
with a percentage of
changes to the lineup.
From a stint in Las
Vegas to their current
home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as regulars
at Calvin Gilmore’s Carolina Opry, several talented
dancers have worked with ALL THAT or performed
in shows to fill in for them when they had other
engagements or took time off. It was from this
pool of incredibly talented young men that ALL
THAT created the super-group that took the stage
on America’s Got Talent.
Indiana native Drake Elkin was honored to be
a part of ALL THAT for the talent show. With his
boyish smile and shock of red hair, Elkin looks
much younger than his 27 years. But this young
man is a seasoned performer, who took time away
from his job performing as a McCoy clogger in the
Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee to participate.
“The hardest part of the America’s
Got Talent show for me was that many
of the group were together practicing
in Myrtle Beach and I was by myself
practicing in Pigeon Forge,” Elkin said.
“However, I am getting wonderful on
the job experience at the Hatfield
and McCoy Dinner Show and I think
as a group we were very strong in
the show.”
The mind reading act of Eric
Dittleman beat the group in the
quarter-finals but Judge Sharon
Osbourne played her wild card
because she liked the group
and kept them in the competition. She
told the group she was proud of them and that
they deserved to go on to the next round.
The group continued on to the semifinals and
brought the crowd to its feet with a production that
included dancing on platforms, solo dancing and
setting their feet on fire and dancing with flames
coming from their toes.
“It was an intense and brutal competition,” Elkin
said. “It was a very tough week because there
(Far left) From left, Kenneth Fithen, Delohn Collins, Mike
Curtis, Mark Clifford and Brian Staggs appearing on the
first season of America’s Got Talent in 2006
Photo by ALL THAT
(Left and Above) Indiana Native Drake Elkin has appeared
with ALL THAT in their Myrtle Beach shows and is now
a cast member at the Hatfield/McCoy Dinner Show in
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Photo by the Marion Star
The Doubletoe Times Magazine of Clogging www.doubletoe.com 11