Appalachian folk dancing “White-washed?”

I first heard of Jesco White and the White family with Hank III‘s 2006 release of Straight To Hell. III’s sensitive and haunting musical approach on “D. Ray White” has an allure as hypnotic and endearing as the Appalachian folk dancing heard on the tune, making it a favorite amoungst Hank III fans both young and old. Jesco White dances on Hank III’s song “Louisiana Stripes” as well. Fan favorite aside, the music has also revived interest in the White family.

Who are the Whites?

D. Ray White has been considered as one of the greatest mountain dancers in the United States. His dance style, along with his son Jesco’s, is a nearly forgotten artform of American dance that combines a subtle mix of tap and clog, native to Appalachia. D. Ray was a modest man, a coal miner, who, along with his wife Bertie Mae, had thirteen children and parented many more. Bertie Mae was lovingly given the nickname of “Miracle Woman” because of her warmth and motherly generousity towards her family and friends. Sadly, D. Ray was murdered in 1985. Bertie Mae survived several of her children but passed in 2008.

D. Ray was first introduced to the mainstream on 1987′s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary “Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap”. Talking Feet is the first documentary to feature flatfoot, buck, hoedown, and rural tap dancing, the styles of solo Southern dancing which are a companion to traditional old-time music and on which modern clog dancing is based. Talking Feet features 24 traditional dancers videotaped on location in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina.

There have been several documentaries, films and musical works over the last 2+ decades about The Whites, with Jesco being the stand-out of the bunch. PBS released two documentaries about Jesco. He was first profiled on the PBS’s “Different Drummer” Series as the subject of the 1991 doc “Dancing Outlaw”, which featured him at home in West Virginia and gave audiences a glimpse into his troubled life. In the 1994 short film “Dancing Outlaw 2: Jesco Goes To Hollywood”, he traveled to Los Angeles to perform on the hit television show “Roseanne”. Both of these documentaries have tended to segment audiences and many feel they are simply works of “Rednexploitation”.

In some circles, The Whites are considered cult icons. In West Virginia, they are infamous…

A 2009 documentary film about The Whites, titled The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia portrays the White family as uneducated and impoverished simpletons that regularly engage in illegal activity of all sorts. While some filmakers may have exploited the criminal element of the Whites’ freewheelin’ lifestyle, the truth is that the Whites are not alone. Their dsyfunctional family ways have root in every family, of every color, by every name, all across our nation and beyond. Their lifestyle affords them a rebellious “freedom” that many people rarely allow themelves to engage in further than a thought.

There are many fascinating people that make up the fine folk patchwork our country is decorated with. There are other documentaries and artful works about, or by, American folk dancers, musicians and artists. These “salt-of-the-earth” folks exhibit wonderful talent and provide a down-home entertainment that many of us will never have the pleasure of enjoying first hand. So I invite you to take a few minutes and enjoy a little homespun fun by watching the videos and visiting the links below.

Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap
1987′s “Talking Feet” was released on DVD in 2007 and is available through Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Talking-Feet-Southern-Dance-Flatfoot/dp/B000OCY7O4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1274742933&sr=1-1

Appalachian Journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2u2PHlI6eQ&feature=channel
Alan Lomax travels through the Southern Appalachians investigating the songs, dances, and religious rituals of the descendents of the Scotch-Irish frontiers people who have made the mountains their home for centuries.

Hasil Adkins – My Blue Star trailer

The life & hunchin’ times of Hasil “Haze” Adkins
Documentary on Hasil Adkins, nnown to his many fans as “The Haze.” He was a rocakabilly artist who developed an international cult following as a “one-man band and inventor of the hunch.”

The Wild World of Hasil “Haze” Adkins, Part 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhe0Q45dms4

Dancin Outlaw

White Lightnin’ – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034419/

From the United Kingdom comes White Lightnin’ which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. Inspired by the life of Jesco White, director Dominic Murphy’s reportedly more surreal take on this fabled Appalachian anti-hero creates a cleverly stylized portrait that has been called “nothing short of sensational”. In the film, Jesco picks up his daddy’s tap shoes after D. Ray’s passing, and hits the road, where he comes to grips with the art, addiction, and madness that have plagued his violent life story. And somewhere along the way he meets his wife, played by none other than Carrie Fisher  (yes, Princess Laya).

I don’t know how factual this film claims but judging by the trailer, it’s gonna be somethin’ regardless…. http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/white_lightnin

Other Sources:
http://www.folkstreams.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesco_White
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_family
http://www.wildandwonderfulwhites.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924962/