The hippest thing in music and dance is not always the newest thing.
The old adage ‘everything old is new again’ certainly holds true in music and dance.
Appalachian Dance has been around since the 18th Century. It is a relative of Scot-Irish Dance, with a great deal of African influence as well. Called by many Appalachian Step Dancing, it started with hoedowns, and like every other form of folk art soon made it’s way into popular culture. In this case to the stage.
One of the masters of this dance is Ira Bernstein. Born in the north, Ira now makes his home is Western North Carolina. Here he can be seen dancing to the music of Banjoist extraordinaire Riley Baugus, and master fiddler James Leva. (Footage from a dress rehearsal for a show about Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham)
Ira’s website is: tentoepercussion.com
