A Slender Thread

Hootin an Hollarin is over for the year.  But there are some things that need to be said.  About music.  About dancing.  About traditional ways.  

Our music has evolved over time.  The Appalachian heritage came with the first settlers who braved the long road west and settled our area.  Music and dance were such a part of their lives , handed down from father to son to grandson and beyond. 

Our musicians who know the traditional tunes and how they were played are still around, and thankfully, we have a group of young people who are continuing to play the old time songs.

Dancing is another matter.  As I watched the dancers on Saturday night , following the calls of the set, I began to think about what was to come.  Would the steps that we have danced for so many  years disappear when we die?  Will future young people listen to the caller as he launches into the familiar opening, All join hands and circle south, get a little moonshine in your mouth, Circle back to Arkansas. Eat cornbread and possum jaw.  On your left with your old left paw.  Back to your partner, right and left all.?

We love to see the young people dancing down on the end of the platforms. For the last few years we have been able to bring the younger kids up and give them some idea of how a square dance might go...circle, keep time with the music.  They are our future.

But that future is held by a slender thread.  It takes all of us to preserve our traditions whatever they may be.  I take heart when I see that huge group of teenagers and young adults as they go through the steps of Cross the Hall, or Sally Goodin.  Older dancers have done their part to encourage them to keep the life of our community going.  Some may be discouraged.  But I know ,deep inside, that as long as we rosin up the bow and launch into Soldier's Joy or Liberty, somewhere, sometime there will be someone dancing and listening to the beat..the beat of our community heart.  Keeping it alive through this slender thread.