Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Musical & Dance Cultural Diversity in Extreme Appalachia
Session Abstract or Summary
The global roots of Appalachia that have fostered diverse ethnic and later regional music is succinctly framed by the theory of “transculturation”(Dubois 4-7). In contrast to Sharp’s view of “the southern mountains as an idyll where the preindustrial tradition of Britain still flourished,” Alan Lomax “saw Appalachia culture as a synthesis” of NA, African, and European cultures, “upon which a distinctly American identity was built.” Papers are based on Interviews, documentaries, participant observation and historical research.1) Flatfooting Meets the Charleston in the SW VA Coalfields
In the 1980s.Dante coalfields, the term old time dancing referred not to square dancing but to couple dancing with angular posture, swiveling legs, and percussive energy. This distinctive style resulted from interactions among locals, thousands of African American southerners and hundreds of European immigrants brought into the mines.2) La Bachata is a musical genre and dance form associated with the Afro-Carribean pobre (poor) of the Dominican Republic. Unlike Merengue, Hispaniola’s preeminent rhythm, Bachata has been historically marginalized by the Dominican elite, recordings of early acoustic bachateros are nearly non-existent and little is known of the music’s history. But Bachata has recently been reimagined and electrified by Dominican immigrants living in NYC. From there, the music spread rapidly across the nation’s Latin dance floors and has even become popular in some southern Appalachian dance scenes--like Asheville, NC. 3) The media lecture shows gourd banjo tradition helped enslaved West Africans survive the Middle Passage and create new communities. By the 1830s, Southern whites helped create the 5-string open-back banjo that retains the African short drone string and synthesizes African and European influences. After the Civil War, the inset rim “mountain” banjo appears in the NC Mountains and remains a marker of regional mountain culture. 4) The marginalized voices of black fiddler Earl White, a co-found of the Green Grass Cloggers, and Arthur Grimes, who has danced with the Carolina Chocolate drops, know that education about the African roots of fiddle and dance will help the old time revival community grow more appreciative of cultural equity.
Presentation #1 Title
Diverse Musical Voices in Extreme Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The global roots of Appalachia that have fostered diverse ethnic music and the cultural exchange that led to regional music is succinctly framed by the theory of “transculturation.” Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz defined this process by which African, European, and indigenous people shaped each other to create the new cultures of the Atlantic (Dubois 4-7). In contrast to Sharp’s view of “the southern mountains as an idyll where the preindustrial tradition of Britain still flourished,” Alan Lomax “saw Appalachia culture as a synthesis” of NA, African, and European cultures, “upon which a distinctly American identity was built.” Many African intellectuals argue that rhythms symbolize the “core of African culture”(Kubik). We still lack adequate knowledge of NA influences upon banjo tradition, but the fact that both Africans and Cherokees cherish the links of rhythms to “natural or bodily responses” invites exploration. My media lecture shows the gourd banjo arrived in Maryland no later than 1740 and a Haitian banjo form arrived about 1800. Gourd banjo tradition helped enslaved Africans in America survive the Middle Passage and create new communities. For almost 100 years only these songsters “thumped” banjos to accompany dance and call and respond to their lyrics improvised in a new language. By the 1830s, Southern whites played and helped create the 5-string open-back banjo that retains the African short drone string and synthesizes African and European influences. After the Civil War, the inset rim “mountain” banjo appears in the NC Mountains and remains a marker of regional mountain culture.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Cece Conway is author of African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia, co-producer of Smithsonian Folkways Black Banjo Songsters CD and co-maker (with Les Blank) of Sprout Wings & Fly: A Portrait of Fiddler Tommy Jarrell film
Presentation #2 Title
Flatfooting Meets the Charleston in the Southwest Virginia Coalfields
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
In most of Southwest Virginia in the 1980s, old time dancing referred to square dancing and solo flatfooting. In Dante, in Russell County, the term referred to couple dancing with angular posture, swiveling legs, and percussive energy. This distinctive form and style may have resulted from the upheaval of early 20th C industrialization and evolved because of choices made by dancers in the midst of the rapid transformation of the area, when thousands of African American southerners and hundreds of European immigrants were coming to work in the mines. Residents had ample opportunities to exchange movement ideas and to create a new kind of dancing. This presentation is based on observation of the dancing, interviews with black and white dancers, and bibliographic research.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Susan Eike Spalding has danced in the Appalachian region for three decades. She has served as a consultant for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Kentucky Folklife Festival, co-produced video documentaries on dance, and edited dance entries for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Her book, Appalachian Dance: Creativity and Continuity in Six Communities, received the 2014 Weatherford Award for Non-fiction.
Presentation #3 Title
Sexy, Saucy, Bachata: Dominican Two-step in Appalachia?
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
La Bachata is a musical genre and dance form associated with the Afro-Carribean pobre (poor) of the Dominican Republic. Unlike Merengue, Hispaniola’s preeminent rhythm, Bachata has been historically marginalized and stereotyped by the Dominican elite. As a result, recordings of early acoustic bachateros are nearly non-existent and little is known of the music’s history. Interestingly, Bachata has recently been reinvented, reimagined, and electrified by Dominican immigrants living in New York City. From there, the music spread rapidly across the nation’s Latin dance floors and has even become popular in some southern Appalachian dance scenes. For instance, in Asheville, North Carolina, there are several instructors of Bachata dance and at least three establishments consistently play the music for “Latin dance nights” on weekends. Significantly, this couple dance is typically performed alongside other dance forms including Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Rumba, Banda, Punta, and Hip-Hop/Reggaetón. These dances have diverse origins, and the venues where they are played tend to be ethnically heterogeneous as well. I will elaborate on how Latin dance debunks stereotypes of Appalachian “whiteness” while describing how Bachata and other forms facilitate inter-cultural mixing. Additionally, this paper will highlight the complex history and evolution of Bachata in the Dominican Republic and in the United States, and will also showcase how processes of globalization facilitate cross-cultural exchanges of the form in western North Carolina and elsewhere. Ethnographic data gathered through interviews and participant observation will be presented, and a variety of audio and video clips will be utilized to enrich the presentation.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Shawn Terrell holds a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University, and an M.A. in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Sustainable Development at Appalachian State University where he teaches animal health, livestock production, farm operations, and human-animal studies. When away from the veterinary clinic and university, Shawn enjoys traveling in Latin America, spending time outdoors, dancing, playing old time music, and homesteading.
Presentation #4 Title
Recovering Marginalized Voices from Earl White and Arthur Grimes: Contemporary Black Musicians and Dancers in the Old Time Music Community
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
The dominant population in old-time music community is white. While there are a few contemporary black musicians and dancers, not much scholarly work has been done on them. This paper recovers two black musicians’ narratives marginalized in the old time community. Both Earl White, a fiddler and also a founding member of the Green Grass Cloggers, and Arthur Grimes, a dancer known for his work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, were born in North Carolina in the 1950s and began to dance in the 1970s as the old-time community continued to experience a revival movement. Through analyzing their narratives, this paper questions the notions of equality and openness that are largely shared in the old-time community today. Black people have made historically a great contribution to the music and the community. How can we consider that the community holding up equality and openness can be truly equal and open without the participation of the black people? Faced with this contradiction in the community, both White and Grimes argue that people have to be educated more about the black contribution to the old-time music tradition. Therefore, this paper looks at an ideal community of old-time music that both of the musicians illustrate. Methodologically, this research uses interviews with White and Grimes, other musicians and dancers in the community, and cites other scholarship on black musicians. This paper gives us a better understanding of the diversity of the music, the music community and of Appalachian culture in general.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Shohei Tsutsumi, born in Japan, is an old time musician and a graduate student of Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State U. He graduated from Doshisha U in Kyoto, Japan in March 2016 with a MA in American STudies. He submitted a these titled "A Contradiction in the Old Time Music Community Today: Challenges by Contemporary Black Musicians" to Doshiesha U.
Diverse Musical Voices in Extreme Appalachia
The global roots of Appalachia that have fostered diverse ethnic music and the cultural exchange that led to regional music is succinctly framed by the theory of “transculturation.” Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz defined this process by which African, European, and indigenous people shaped each other to create the new cultures of the Atlantic (Dubois 4-7). In contrast to Sharp’s view of “the southern mountains as an idyll where the preindustrial tradition of Britain still flourished,” Alan Lomax “saw Appalachia culture as a synthesis” of NA, African, and European cultures, “upon which a distinctly American identity was built.” Many African intellectuals argue that rhythms symbolize the “core of African culture”(Kubik). We still lack adequate knowledge of NA influences upon banjo tradition, but the fact that both Africans and Cherokees cherish the links of rhythms to “natural or bodily responses” invites exploration. My media lecture shows the gourd banjo arrived in Maryland no later than 1740 and a Haitian banjo form arrived about 1800. Gourd banjo tradition helped enslaved Africans in America survive the Middle Passage and create new communities. For almost 100 years only these songsters “thumped” banjos to accompany dance and call and respond to their lyrics improvised in a new language. By the 1830s, Southern whites played and helped create the 5-string open-back banjo that retains the African short drone string and synthesizes African and European influences. After the Civil War, the inset rim “mountain” banjo appears in the NC Mountains and remains a marker of regional mountain culture.
