“When I’m a-dancing, I’m not just going through a bunch of steps making a bunch of noise,” Thomas Maupin said, describing the folk tradition known as buck dancing. “I’m trying to play the tune they’re ...

Old-time buck dancing, a traditional Appalachian freestyle solo dance with roots in Africa and the British Isles, is about active engagement with the music. It’s often playfully competitive and has ...

The late Robert Spicer played a key role in preserving an American art form. Stories of Spicer’s kindness and love for buck-dancing are retold throughout Dickson County, especially when the annual Old ...