Phil Jamison Collection, 1992-1993

Has Online Content

Some materials from this collection are available online.
Show only online content

Access restrictions

Some materials from this collection have restrictions.
See restrictions

Summary

Creator:
Jamison, Phil.
Abstract:

The Phil Jamison Collection consists of video recordings, audio recordings, and printed materials created by Phil Jamison for the North Carolina Arts Council Folklife Program-funded documentary project Western North Carolina: Buckdancers, Flatfoot Dancers and Charleston Dancers. The project documented the lives and dancing of buckdancers, flatfoot dancers, and Charleston dancers from several counties in western North Carolina, including Buncombe County, Henderson County, Swain County, Yancey County, Clay County, Jackson County, Burke County, Haywood County, Watauga County, and Madison County. Jamison collected the materials during 1992 and 1993; the project was completed in 1993. The video recordings are on Hi8 and VHS and consist of shots of dancers demonstrating dances to live music, descriptions of steps, and interviews with the dancers. Dances documented include the Hambone, the Turkey Trot, the Two-Step, the Charleston, and the Chicken. The video log documents the dancer's name, the dance style, the accompanying music, and the date of the performance recorded. The audio recordings are on audiocassette and consist of oral history interviews with twelve dancers. Of particular interest are the performances of L. C. King and John Reeves, who were featured in Mike Seeger's 1987 documentary film Talking Feet.

Extent:
20 items
Language:
Materials in English

Background

Biographical / historical:

Musician, dance caller, and flatfoot dancer Phil Jamison (b. 1953) has been the coordinator of Warren Wilson College's Appalachian Music Program and the Assistant Director of the annual Swannanoa Gathering. He also served as contributing editor and writer for the traditional music and dance publication The Old-Time Herald.

Jamison began documenting the flatfoot, buckdance, and Charleston dance styles in 1992 with a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council Folklife Program. These methods of dance are variations on the traditional dance style which is widely known as "clogging" or "stepdancing." Though clogging in the Appalachian region developed out of the 18th century dances of Scottish and Irish settlers, the distinct styles documented in these materials evolved under other influences. Buckdancing has its roots in African dance; flatfoot and Charleston styles are thought to have developed out of African American folk dancing. There is very little documentation on the origins of these dances.

Scope and content:

The Phil Jamison Collection consists of video recordings, audio recordings, and printed materials created by Phil Jamison for the North Carolina Arts Council Folklife Program-funded documentary project Western North Carolina: Buckdancers, Flatfoot Dancers and Charleston Dancers. The project documented the lives and dancing of buckdancers, flatfoot dancers, and Charleston dancers from several counties in western North Carolina, including Buncombe County, Henderson County, Swain County, Yancey County, Clay County, Jackson County, Burke County, Haywood County, Watauga County, and Madison County. Jamison collected the materials during 1992 and 1993; the project was completed in 1993.

The video recordings are on Hi8 and VHS and consist of shots of dancers demonstrating dances to live music, descriptions of steps, and interviews with the dancers. Dances documented include the Hambone, the Turkey Trot, the Two-Step, the Charleston, and the Chicken. The video log documents the dancer's name, the dance style, the accompanying music, and the date of the performance recorded. The audio recordings are on audiocassette and consist of oral history interviews with twelve dancers. Of particular interest are the performances of L. C. King and John Reeves, who were featured in Mike Seeger's 1987 documentary film Talking Feet.

Acquisition information:

Received from Phil Jamsion in March 2004 (Acc. 099791).

Processing information:

Processed by: Alison Waldenberg, July 2006

Encoded by: Alison Waldenberg, July 2006

Updated by: Anne Wells, October 2016; Nancy Kaiser, February 2021

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

Use of audio or moving image materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Phil Jamison Collection #20389-z, Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu