Clogging for the Next Generation feat. Tommy Jackson

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Every region has its own culture of music, dance, food, language, faith expressions and more.

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_02]: With the fast pace of life these days, it takes intentionality to keep those aspects of culture alive.

[00:00:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Here in Franklin, Tennessee, we have someone keeping square dancing and clogging alive.

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Join us at the table as we sit with Tommy Jackson to hear about his Rocky Top review.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to the Steel Magnolias Podcast. We are two sisters here to have uplifting conversations about life in the South.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_02]: The South is full of beautiful diversity in landscape, people groups and culture.

[00:00:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And we want to showcase each part. We've got plenty of room at our table, so pull up your chair.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome back to the table. I'm Laura Beth and I'm Lainie.

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And we are here to discuss preservation of a very, very important part of Southern culture.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Clogging. Square dancing and clogging. That's right. They go hand in hand.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_03]: I'd put Buck dancing and Flatfoot dancing grouped into that because all of those Appalachian styles.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. Footwear is key. Obviously footwork is important in any dance style, but the footwear is what's really key and sets those dance styles apart.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_03]: We actually did an episode, I looked it up. It was five years ago. That's crazy.

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_03]: After you took a trip to Ireland is why we put in an episode on Southern dancing because you see such similarities in the music, in the dance styles.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. So you had been recognizing the Irish influence on the South because you were in Ireland.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_03]: And so we had already been wanting to talk about different dance styles, but on that episode we did cover everything from Flatfoot to Shag to everything in between.

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh yeah. I'm remembering. It was a while ago. Well you should link to that.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_03]: So I will. Yeah, especially if you're interested in just learning more about these styles. We go into a lot more in-depth knowledge on that.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But today I would say this is a style of dance that you see both in black communities, white communities. One of the reasons it's so popular in Appalachian areas, mountain areas is because of that Scotch Irish influence.

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Correct. Yeah. Those folk dances came over with immigrants to this country and then kind of got their own twist once they all started intermingling here with other people groups.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah. So we got to sit down with Tommy Jackson. Tell us about Tommy. I've got a little bit, but you've probably got more.

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Well Tommy's been Tommy Jackson has literally been dancing longer than we've been alive.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh my gosh. That's true. Funny to think about. Wow.

[00:02:59] [SPEAKER_02]: He formed the Rocky Top Review in 1982 and it is still going strong. They've made numerous appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman.

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_02]: They've been in music videos and won numerous Bluegrass Festival competitions. So very known in the region. Yeah.

[00:03:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And right here in Franklin on every Sunday afternoon, we're here at the table recording and he's at the old courthouse, not the new one, teaching free dance lessons.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, right on the courthouse steps at our downtown square. And it's obviously open to the public because you're going to be walking right by.

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_02]: You're out on the square shopping, eating. You're going to say this group dancing. Yeah. So they have, they've come a long way.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_03]: You're going to get to hear Tommy talk about the genesis of how this group came to be. I think he was probably headed in a different direction with his own dancing career than where he's ended up today.

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_03]: But it's really beautiful the way that he has brought the next generation alongside him for this journey, if you will.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_03]: So without further ado, let's just listen in to a little chat we had with Tommy Jackson.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I want to know Mr. Jackson, who taught you how to dance?

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: The way it started out, we were going to barn dances when I was five years old, six years old.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Describe a barn dance.

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a square dance and it was held at Cherokee Orchard over here in Nolanville, Tennessee on Burkitt Road.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And when we went there, it was unusual. It was just a square dance on Saturday nights.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_03]: In a barn?

[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_00]: It was actually an apple barn. They raised apples.

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: And they had a big apple in a glass case as you went in the door. The barn was huge.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was, oh my gosh, there'd be 100 people out there on four dancing at one time.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: But I never danced. I've seen every dancer you can see.

[00:05:00] [SPEAKER_00]: It got to the point when I got older and I wanted to play in the backyard.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: I did not want to go to the dance.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was about, I mean, just a little fit.

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So your parents were going to dance?

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And they drug you to dance?

[00:05:18] [SPEAKER_00]: All those kids loaded up with me.

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And then later than that, if we didn't go there, they had a barn dance here in Franklin.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was at the old bus garage, which is across from the archives building.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Now in the archives building, there was a square dance on Saturday nights.

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: So we'd go down there. That was more fun because kids, we all played.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And about what year would this have been?

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I would have been at the time six years old.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_03]: What year?

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Gosh, 52, 58, 1958, 1958, 1959.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Okay.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_00]: And so later years, we just sort of drifted away from the dance.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_00]: I did.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And because I went to work for a news company at 12 years old and with newspapers.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And lo and behold, I was 20, I was 23 years old.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Dad came in, keep in mind, a bunch of boys working on a race car.

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_00]: I was working on a race car team.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And dad came in and he told me, he said, won't you go to a square dance with me tonight?

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought, a square dance.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_00]: I hadn't been with those in a while.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So I went.

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And I had already seen my dad.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, he'd been showing me a few things.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And I thought, okay, so I went.

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I walked in.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_00]: The race car guys went with me.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And they kept saying you're over there about to die.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Go ask her to dance.

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And I kept saying, I don't know how to dance.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_00]: They said, you fix the learn because you're going to whip you if you don't dance.

[00:06:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Now they bigger than I was.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So the last dance that night that black headed little girl, I jumped out on the dance floor.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I had no clue what I was doing.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean nothing.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_00]: I'd say mom and dad dance and keep in mind, I've seen all these dancers over the years.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_00]: All the barn dances and stuff.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: When I started dancing, she started giggling life.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And then she looked on.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: She said, where did you learn all that?

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_00]: I said, I've seen dancers.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_00]: My mom and dad's dancers.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_00]: My aunts were dancers.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_00]: My grandmother.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And these have a square dance to downtown Franklin one time a year at Mellon Mushroom right down at Quad.

[00:07:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And that was a go to place.

[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And so when I started dancing two weeks later, we went to Thompson Station, Tennessee.

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't think I'd ever see the girl again.

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_00]: She walked in the door.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Because clearly she's a dancer.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, she was.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Her dancing instructor did not want me around her.

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_00]: He kept saying, don't learn what he's doing.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't learn what he's doing.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_00]: And she kept saying, you got a different style.

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_00]: We've never seen it.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_00]: We want, I mean, she was trying to, her dance instructor was pretty unique.

[00:08:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And he was Mr. Robert Spicer.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Robert Spicer is the guru of dance, square dance.

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_00]: He's the king.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And so lo and behold, it didn't take me long.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER_00]: We started dating three months later.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_00]: We engaged to be married.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_00]: She liked your style.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_03]: How would you describe the way you were dancing?

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_00]: What we do is, I've had people tell me the dance style that I have, that we have in this region, is a forgotten Irish step dance.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Over 100 years old forgotten.

[00:08:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But everybody dances a same in this region.

[00:08:51] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's a unique style.

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But it's pretty peppy, as I say.

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And where do you have Mr. Spicer style dances a little bit lower and progressive, where we're a little bit more free styling?

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_00]: And the reason I say this is I've had people from Ireland about a year ago.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_00]: There was a gentleman in Nashville and he saw us dance.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And he blatantly said, I video take this.

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Can I send it back to Ireland?

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That was at two o'clock in the afternoon.

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_00]: We circled back about seven.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: He said, you're at 80,000 views right now.

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I said, what?

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_00]: He said, I sent it to my dad in Ireland.

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And that is a forgotten Irish step dance.

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And they're spreading it through Ireland right now to notice what you're doing.

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER_00]: But back to the dance.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_00]: I was starting dating this young lady and Mr. Spicer tickled me.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: He said, he told me I'd never be a dancer to my face.

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: They had a dance at Dixon at the Ruskin Cave.

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, he and I tied in the dance competition.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I beat him in the tie for $10.

[00:10:16] [SPEAKER_00]: He asked me to dance with him.

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_00]: I was waiting for two years.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'd already been taking him watching Dad and Mom.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_00]: They were working with me a little bit.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_00]: But they let me be on their dance team.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_00]: So I went with Mr. Spicer and he showed me a lot.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_00]: I learned a lot about square dancing.

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And the techniques and stuff pretty much, he's using the old sets.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And I sat back and watched what he was trying to do.

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_00]: But he always showcased me, I got to go out and do my solo dance.

[00:10:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Not like his kids, I was different.

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_00]: He called me the Wild Man.

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_00]: But later years, I went back to Dad's dance team

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: and stayed with him for about two years to dance with him and Mom.

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_00]: And then right before that, or right after that,

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_00]: we were hand-picked, had trouts for Holiday Inns of America.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And there were ten of us that ended up getting selected.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And lo and behold, they told us to go by outfits,

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_00]: take care of everything we need, and then reimburse us.

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we got everything made, ready to go.

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_00]: We went to the exhibition that night.

[00:11:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was called the Silver Dollar Lounge over here

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_00]: and other side of Knowlensville.

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And we were called the Silver Dollar Ramblers.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_00]: And the catch was when we got done, everybody threw a Silver Dollar out in the crowd.

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_00]: All the dancers just around throwing.

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_00]: We got fired the first night.

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It was kind of odd.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_00]: They walked in and said the financing fell through

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_00]: due to economy, you're on your own.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And there we stood in your outfits that you've already paid for.

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And the dance team all looked over and said,

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_00]: well, what are y'all gonna do?

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I said why don't we stay together?

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_00]: We got to rename the dance team.

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_00]: We can't be under their guidelines or using their name

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_00]: because of the infringement of rights.

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_00]: So they voted me team captain

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_00]: and we renamed the dance team that night Rocky Top Review.

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And we spelled it different, R-E-V-U-E.

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And they said we like that.

[00:12:32] [SPEAKER_00]: I said everybody likes Rocky Top.

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's just go with it.

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_00]: We left there, went straight to the Nashville Palace.

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_00]: We'd heard about this place.

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And we walked in the Nashville Palace.

[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Sight unseen.

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Ten minutes after we were there,

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_00]: the dancers said the dance team came in and let's see what they've got.

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And we were there for two years.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow. What year was that?

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh gosh, that would have been early 80s.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was, well actually it was even earlier than that.

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_00]: About 78, 79.

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: The dance team were more of my age, not at that time.

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And it was sort of odd that back in the day we all drank a lot.

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And I was right in there with them.

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_00]: And I told them one night,

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_00]: well you did a show for George Jones at Possum Hall.

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Well the dance team and the group team went very well,

[00:13:35] [SPEAKER_00]: but we made a mistake.

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_00]: We called shoot the star, we shot it.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I was facing, we all were facing the wrong way.

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_00]: All you do is turn around.

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we had just left another night club

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_00]: and it was off of Trinity Road.

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And so we got to the Possum Hall

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_00]: and everybody was still drinking.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And we made a mistake.

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody walked all stage and left me standing there.

[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_00]: So I just had a discussion.

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And we all freed us and I told them we can't do this.

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_00]: We can't drink and dance.

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_00]: We've got to separate the two.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't understand.

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_00]: They said we're adults, we do what we want.

[00:14:18] [SPEAKER_00]: And next morning I got a phone call and said

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00]: we're going to leave you.

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_00]: You're on your own.

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to get us on a dance day.

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So...

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_02]: That happens sometimes when you are trying to be...

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_00]: And then the phone rang

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_00]: and the lady that we did the show for on Trinity Road

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_00]: wanted to hire us every Friday and Saturday night.

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Now this was big money back then.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_00]: They wanted to pay $500 a show

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_00]: for the dance team in the 70s.

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Musicians didn't make that.

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_00]: And I told her, I apologize, we don't have a dance day.

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_00]: They folded last night.

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And she said, how long do you want to take one together?

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And I told her I can't do it.

[00:15:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have any dancers.

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_00]: So I was at home sitting on the couch.

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Mother came in and she said,

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_00]: let me ask you a question.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Why don't you find kids, teach them to dance,

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_00]: raise them the way you want?

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And I said there and I thought,

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_00]: well we're in the old season,

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I can find dancers.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_00]: So I started shopping around.

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_00]: I went to Fairview, Tennessee.

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Out to a truck stop.

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_00]: They said there's a girl out there who wants to dance.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_00]: She's 14 years old.

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_00]: And I had the swimming pool.

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And I asked her, I said, I'm looking for dancers.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_00]: They tell me you can dance.

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_00]: She said, yeah my sister's older

[00:15:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and she wants to dance too, can she?

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So that was two of them.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I got a call to go to Leapers Fort, Tennessee.

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_00]: I went down there.

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Dad said you gotta go down and see that boy down there.

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's where I met Mr. Robert Deal.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I had already picked up Dana Jones,

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Kimberly Jones, I had the Jones girls.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Then I got a call from a gentleman named Jim Lankford.

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Jim had four girls.

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, he said looking better all the time.

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And then I found a boy named Brian Bale.

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_00]: And we built the brand new dance team.

[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And he had a brother Danny who was on the team as well.

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_00]: And then we picked up Johnny and Felicia Malady.

[00:16:31] [SPEAKER_00]: And the first year, actually that was right before the Smithville Jammery.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_00]: We practiced in a parking lot on asphalt three to four hours every Sunday.

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody got water, we got everything down.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_00]: That's commitment.

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And we went to the Smithville Jammery.

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_00]: One of the biggest bluegrass festivals around.

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_00]: That's it.

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Hot in July.

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_00]: So we got there and it's kind of funny.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Ex-dance members come by and they sort of keep me a little bit.

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_00]: They said, we got us a great dance team now.

[00:17:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I said, I'm proud for you.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_00]: We're still friends, don't be wrong.

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_00]: We laugh, we're still friends now.

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_00]: And they said, we need the dance teams to get dressed ahead of the staging area.

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody's like, well, we're sorry you don't have a dance team.

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I looked over, it's all right kids.

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get them on.

[00:17:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody's appalled.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: They said, what do you mean?

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_00]: I said, I've got a dance team too.

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_00]: But I've got a dog gone good one.

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Because nobody's ever let all young kids be on the dance team.

[00:17:43] [SPEAKER_00]: I was saying, remember everybody, I was like 30.

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody else is like 15, 14.

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And we finished third that night.

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_00]: We finished third.

[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Now what style dance were you doing?

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_00]: We're doing a traditional style like Robert Spicer would do,

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_00]: like the old square dance style in the quadrils.

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_00]: But what we did was we spruced them up a little bit.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_00]: And at the time I was drafting up the routines

[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_00]: what I thought would work on stage.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Because I knew what the rules were.

[00:18:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Back then you could dance, you could do a six or seven minute routine.

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Now you do four and a half minutes and that's it.

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_00]: But like I said, there are solid taps versus the taps.

[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_00]: The sounds have changed over the years too.

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_00]: When I first started dancing they had a jingle tap.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And then it went to a different style.

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_00]: But now the styles have changed again.

[00:18:39] [SPEAKER_00]: But whenever we were dancing you created your sound.

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Now it's fabricated because the taps have more jingle.

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_00]: Back in the old days there was a button and a piece of metal.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And it rattled and that was it.

[00:18:51] [SPEAKER_00]: You had to really drive.

[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_03]: So it's gone the way that music production has gone.

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_00]: That's interesting.

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_00]: But so what we try to do is put the kids in solid taps,

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_00]: force you to make the double sound.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: And the difference between us and everybody else

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_00]: when we dance on concrete and practice on concrete,

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_00]: they're on wood.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And then do they break it down in the...

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I can't remember at the Smithville Jamboree is it like

[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_02]: clogging is different than buck dancing?

[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Buck dancing is more low drive.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_00]: They don't know how a whole lot of leg kicks and all that.

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's the clogging above.

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_00]: But in Team Square Dance what we did,

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_00]: the style that we had was totally different

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_00]: than all the other dance dance.

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Because they're coming out there and it's low drive.

[00:19:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And it sounded like a train on track.

[00:19:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Well we did the same thing, but we had a little bit more giddy up and go.

[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And like I said, it's pretty unique to watch the styles in the crossover.

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And shoot at 14 and 15, they really got get up and go too.

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, what was funny and finished third that night,

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_00]: we won 32 out of 33 competitions before we got beat again.

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_03]: And you said you were around 30.

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Is that about the average age of the dancers that night,

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_03]: aside from your team?

[00:20:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody else is 30 and above.

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER_00]: We were the young ones at the bunch.

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But that set the presence of what I wanted to do

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_00]: as far as keeping kids.

[00:20:25] [SPEAKER_00]: And they've over the years helped us maintain

[00:20:28] [SPEAKER_00]: and keep the longevity of our dance team name.

[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_00]: We've been out there now 44 years with the same team name.

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_00]: And there's not another team in the state of Tennessee

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_00]: that has that longevity.

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_00]: And 44 years, and of that 44 years we've had 19

[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_00]: lead or dance teams that joined the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights.

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And watching them, they say, jealous and all proud.

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Because if you look over, here's a kid that you raised

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_00]: and now they're on the Grand Ole Opry.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00]: But now they're bringing their kids back to me.

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're still feeding it.

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_00]: But no, it's been tough.

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_00]: We're independent.

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_00]: The lessons are free.

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_00]: We don't charge a dime.

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Never have never will.

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And everybody says why don't you charge?

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Why should I charge a child for something that was

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_00]: gifted to me for free?

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Because if it had not been for mom and dad taking me to

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_00]: that squared ants, and that night when I said

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_00]: that squared ants, when I left the dance team and we split,

[00:21:36] [SPEAKER_00]: I made my civil promise.

[00:21:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't need to drink.

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_00]: I do not need to be a part of that.

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Won't be a part of it.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And I just cleaned my act up because I could not

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_00]: send an example for the kids if I was doing something

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_00]: different and I wanted them to be better.

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But like I said, the camaraderie and the fun

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_00]: that we've had over the years, oh my gosh.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Like mother said, you need to give the children an

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_00]: opportunity to be in this dance world because little

[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_00]: ones were shut out.

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_00]: It was more or less an adult thing.

[00:22:12] [SPEAKER_00]: That's why you didn't like going because you weren't dancing.

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_00]: And now, like I said, getting to watch it, they

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_00]: said you couldn't teach children that were seven,

[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_00]: eight, nine year olds how to do this.

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, if you could teach them to play ball, why don't

[00:22:31] [SPEAKER_00]: you teach them to dance?

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_00]: We had the youngest squared ants team to ever enter

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_00]: the Smithville Jammery because they didn't have aged

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_00]: brackets.

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_00]: They beat everybody at seven, eight, nine years old.

[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_00]: That team was, it was really weird to see that

[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_00]: night, to see all the little ones lined up with

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_00]: a pen and paper, one of the autographs.

[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_00]: That was crazy.

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody's seen that.

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Even the adults wanted the autograph.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_00]: And that team, three of them went on to the

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Opry, became Opry dancers.

[00:23:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, it just, it's mind boggling to see.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_00]: But over the years, gosh, trying to preserve it's

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_00]: been tough.

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_00]: We're independent.

[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_00]: I pay for the outfits.

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_00]: They do not buy it.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And they said, well, how do you pay for it?

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, if we do a show and we get paid, then what

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_00]: we do is we take the money, put it toward the

[00:23:29] [SPEAKER_00]: outfits.

[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Outfits paid off.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_00]: That's it.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_00]: We're good.

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_00]: If it's not paid off, then beer.

[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So I guess the blessing is watching the smiles

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_00]: on the faces.

[00:23:41] [SPEAKER_00]: But the little girls when they travel those

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_00]: outfits for the first time, then we have

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_00]: to take them back because we don't let them

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_00]: take them home.

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.

[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And they break down crime because they don't

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_00]: want to take them off.

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_00]: But we have to maintain them because we don't

[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_00]: want anything to happen to the outfits.

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_00]: I've had one little girl, she started me, she

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_00]: was nine years old.

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And her name is Robin Durden.

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Robin's been with me since she's nine.

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_00]: She's 41 now.

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_00]: And she runs all the operations.

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Everything's run by her.

[00:24:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And what I was saying, we gave her the

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_00]: keys to the car.

[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_00]: She runs everything.

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And the team is actually hers.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_02]: So quite the story on.

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I feel so honored he's here in our town.

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know every town has these people

[00:24:30] [SPEAKER_02]: that are preserving quilting or that so

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_02]: many different things.

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_03]: And listen to your mama, that was one

[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_03]: of the takeaways I took from that.

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Your mamas are smart and know us better

[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_03]: than a lot of people on this living

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_03]: earth know us.

[00:24:47] [SPEAKER_03]: So it makes me once again go back to

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_03]: it's a wonderful life.

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_03]: You know how?

[00:24:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes.

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_03]: George's mom is like, call Mary.

[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Now you know Mary's home.

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_03]: That's so true.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:25:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, I'm proud of him.

[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_03]: And you know, certainly we have

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_03]: heated or tried to heed the charge

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_03]: of what we feel like is important

[00:25:09] [SPEAKER_03]: to preserve, which is a lot of

[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_03]: southern culture.

[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_03]: That's what we're trying to do through this podcast.

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_03]: We're doing this podcast.

[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I just know how fast pace culture

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER_02]: is and the stream, if you're just in

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_02]: the stream of where things are going

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_02]: in our society, it's so fast that so much

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_02]: is falling to the wayside and getting lost.

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_03]: And the day gets gone easily if you're

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_03]: not like what is the intent on today?

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_03]: If you don't think about it, that is

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_03]: just gone.

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_02]: That is so true.

[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm continually floored.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I know everybody's probably heard these

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_02]: statistics, but on average, children

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_02]: ages eight to 12 are spending six hours

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_02]: looking at screens.

[00:25:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh my gosh.

[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And teens are spending closer to nine

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_02]: hours a day looking at screens.

[00:25:59] [SPEAKER_03]: So and if they're in school,

[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_03]: school building for seven hours,

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_03]: and if they're sleeping,

[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_03]: hopefully if you're about eight hours

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_03]: done.

[00:26:08] [SPEAKER_03]: The day is done.

[00:26:10] [SPEAKER_02]: So what's falling to the wayside is

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_02]: exercise, movement, learning new skills,

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_02]: building your faith, building your

[00:26:21] [SPEAKER_02]: friendships.

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Kind of important stuff.

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Life skills.

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_02]: So I just really wanted to even pose

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02]: the question to our listeners,

[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_02]: what needs to be different in your

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_02]: world?

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_02]: What needs to be different in your

[00:26:37] [SPEAKER_02]: calendar and in your house?

[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And is there something you're supposed to

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_02]: take charge of preserving or something

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_02]: that you're supposed to participate in

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_02]: that someone else is preserving?

[00:26:49] [SPEAKER_02]: That I'm sure could use to show up for

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_02]: some dance lessons.

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Or are you supposed to learn how to do

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_02]: that?

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So good.

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_02]: Regional cooking style or whatever the

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_02]: thing may be.

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Is there an aspect of faith that you

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_02]: want to build or grow in?

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And it takes intentionality.

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_03]: And if you don't know what you're gifted

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_03]: in or what you might be passionate

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_03]: about, ask a close friend.

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER_03]: If your mom is still alive, ask her

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_03]: or just somebody that you trust

[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_03]: that's in a place that has kind of

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER_03]: been speaking into your life.

[00:27:20] [SPEAKER_03]: So a co-worker, somebody that knows

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_03]: a little bit of you, just feel like

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_03]: what could you see me preserving

[00:27:27] [SPEAKER_03]: if I was preserving something?

[00:27:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_03]: So there's your charge for the week.

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't always leave y'all with a

[00:27:32] [SPEAKER_03]: charge, but there's your charge for

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_03]: the week.

[00:27:36] [SPEAKER_03]: So if you are anywhere near Franklin,

[00:27:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Tennessee on a Sunday afternoon, we do

[00:27:40] [SPEAKER_03]: hope you'll stop by the square and see

[00:27:42] [SPEAKER_03]: Tommy Jackson and the Rocky Top Review

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_03]: kids out there practicing in the heat

[00:27:47] [SPEAKER_03]: and in the cool weather.

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_03]: They're there all the time.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_03]: So with that, peace be with y'all.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_03]: You've just listened to an episode

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_03]: of the Steel Magnolia's podcast.

[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_03]: An independent show funded solely

[00:28:02] [SPEAKER_03]: on support from listeners like you.

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_03]: And a few advertisers from

[00:28:07] [SPEAKER_03]: time to time.

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_03]: For reminders of what we just said

[00:28:10] [SPEAKER_03]: and links to what we just mentioned,

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_03]: take a look at the description of this episode.

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_03]: They are right there.

[00:28:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Are you enjoying the show?

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_03]: We hope you'll text a friend or loved one

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