Myths and Misconception of Mountain Dance

Presented by Phil Jamison, dance caller, old-time musician, and flatfoot dance.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to see and hear Phil Jamison, renowned Musician and Appalachian Dancer.  The Asheville History Center-Smith McDowell House will present a lecture and presentation on Saturday, September 13, 2014, at 2:00 pm entitled Myths and Misconceptions of Mountain Dance.  The slide presentation and lecture will be held in the Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center on the UNC-Asheville campus.

Phil Jamison is nationally-known. For more than 30 years, he has performed and danced at events throughout North Carolina, the United States and overseas. A member of the Green Grass Cloggers for many years, he was featured as a flatfoot dancer in the film,Songcatcher, where he also served as Traditional Dance consultant.  Along with dancing, he plays the guitar, the fiddle and the banjo.

He has focused his research and writing in the area of Appalachian dance. Mr. Jamison stated that “Mountain dance traditions have often been portrayed as survivals of an ancient Anglo-Saxon heritage brought to the mountains by the early pioneers.  But, rather than being pure survivals of Anglo-Celtic heritage, they are a blend of the European, African and Native American traditions that developed during the nineteenth century in the southern backcountry.”  

Phil teaches mathematics as well as Appalachian music at Warren Wilson College.  He coordinates the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering each year which is sponsored by Warren Wilson College.