So how do you tell one from the other? Read these ten key differences, and you’ll be ready to enjoy Thomas Maupin’s subtle yet joyous style of dance at the National Heritage Fellowships Concert on September 15!ġ. Although flatfoot buck dancing has been practiced informally as part of everyday life in the Appalachian region for generations, clogging started to become a popular staged performance in the mid-twentieth century. Clogging may be the most well-known, but it is a recent development compared to buck dancing or flat footing, the tradition 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellow Thomas Maupin carries from his parents and grandparents.įolklorist Mike Seeger explained in his book Talking Feet that clogging is a modern blend based on the older flatfoot and buck dancing styles in the same way that modern country music is based on traditional string band music but adapted for commercial entertainment. Later, I learned these styles of percussive dance were different yet related traditions that took hold in the Appalachian region of the United States where Anglo-American and African-American dance forms interacted over time. West Virginia University even offered clogging classes (in which I enrolled as soon as I was a college student). I also saw teams of dancers in flashy costumes kicking their feet up high in competitions. I watched solo dancers off to the side of music jams shuffling their feet on resonant wooden dance boards. Growing up in West Virginia, I attended countless county fairs, folk festivals, and square dances where a variety of dance traditions could be seen. 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellow Thomas Maupin.
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