Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
Session 7.16 Music
Presentation #1 Title
Robert Dotson's Walking Step: How one mountain man’s flat-foot step changed Applachian percussive dance.
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Robert’s Dotson's Walking Step has had an equivalent impact on Appalachian percussive dance that Earl Scrugg’s 3-finger banjo style has had on banjo picking and Doc Watson’s flat-picking has had on guitar playing! 91-year old Robert Dotson was an unassuming farmer in Sugar Grove, North Carolina back in 1978 when the Green Grass Cloggers found their way to his dance house. Robert was a dancing man – he would stop what he was doing at the drop of a hat in order to dance a step. Flat-footing is definitely one of the many types of mountain music – the percussion to old-time tunes. Robert was known locally as one of the best flatfoot dancers in western North Carolina and eastern Tennesee, but he was relatively unknown outside his home region. That all changed after that night, as members of GGC were able to decipher where each of his sounds were coming from in Robert’ signature step. Thus the cloggers were able to share the Walking Step through workshops with percussive dancers everywhere and it has been proven to be a creative dynamic force in percussive dance world-wide. I contend that Robert’s Walking Step has had an equivalent impact on percussive dance that Earl Scrugg’s 3-finger banjo style has had on banjo picking and Doc Watson’s flat-picking has had on guitar playing! I will demonstrate Robert’s Walking Step and discuss the way it has impacted modern step dancing.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Rodney Sutton is an independent folklorist who has worked to preserve and share Appalachian music and dance for over 40 year. He currently dances with the Green Grass Cloggers and serves as the Director of Joe Shannon's Mountain Home Music in Boone, NC.
Robert Dotson's Walking Step: How one mountain man’s flat-foot step changed Applachian percussive dance.
Robert’s Dotson's Walking Step has had an equivalent impact on Appalachian percussive dance that Earl Scrugg’s 3-finger banjo style has had on banjo picking and Doc Watson’s flat-picking has had on guitar playing! 91-year old Robert Dotson was an unassuming farmer in Sugar Grove, North Carolina back in 1978 when the Green Grass Cloggers found their way to his dance house. Robert was a dancing man – he would stop what he was doing at the drop of a hat in order to dance a step. Flat-footing is definitely one of the many types of mountain music – the percussion to old-time tunes. Robert was known locally as one of the best flatfoot dancers in western North Carolina and eastern Tennesee, but he was relatively unknown outside his home region. That all changed after that night, as members of GGC were able to decipher where each of his sounds were coming from in Robert’ signature step. Thus the cloggers were able to share the Walking Step through workshops with percussive dancers everywhere and it has been proven to be a creative dynamic force in percussive dance world-wide. I contend that Robert’s Walking Step has had an equivalent impact on percussive dance that Earl Scrugg’s 3-finger banjo style has had on banjo picking and Doc Watson’s flat-picking has had on guitar playing! I will demonstrate Robert’s Walking Step and discuss the way it has impacted modern step dancing.
