| Mary: You have been calling square dancing over 60 years. Can you describe how you began square dancing and include any memories of early calling in square dance? |
|
Wayne: I have been exposed to square dancing & buck
dancing since I was old enough to understand what was going on as my
father and two older brothers all were musicians and played for square
dances around the area in which we lived. Some of these dances were
held in neighbors houses. The furniture was moved out of the dining
room or living room and the dances were the Appalachian Big Circle
dances. ... (Click here to see the entire article) |
| Mary: What is Buck Dancing? Where did it come from? Is it still popular? |
| Wayne: There is no written
documentation to my knowledge of where Buck Dancing originated.
If you read history of the Appalachian dancing you will find
many forms of dancing and where they came from. Many pages are
written in the Encyclopedia of Traditional Appalachian Square
Dancing written by Bill Nichols and Garland Steele. Settlers
coming to this country from many areas of Europe brought along
dances from their culture and some of them settled in the
Appalachian Mountains of the Virginias, Carolina's and Georgia.
Community gatherings were held and people shared their dance
forms. To this day many native Appalachian dancers consider
Clogging and Square Dancing to be the same dance. Other words
that share a common definition in the Appalachian region are
BUCK DANCE and CLOGGING. Buck dancing is the solo dance you do
when you are not square dancing. Clogging is buck dancing with
a partner during a Square Dance. Each of such terms have
previous folk definitions which may have caused the later mixing
of terminology. ... (Click here to see the entire article) |