Traditional jig dancing will again be featured at this year’s Old-Time Music, Ozarks Heritage Festival in downtown West Plains. The Bob Holt Jig Dancing Competition will take place at 12:30 p.m. June 8, in the West Plains Civic Center arena.
All are encouraged to bring their dancing shoes and join in.
The annual, two-day festival, in its 30th year, is West Plains’ signature event and seeks to celebrate, preserve, pass on and nurture an appreciation of the old-time music and folk life traditions distinctive to the Ozarks Highlands. Admission to all festival events is free.
Jig dancing contestants will compete in four age divisions: Younger than 17 years, ages 18 through 50, ages 51 through 70 and older than 70. No entry fee will be charged, and contestants can register to participate on the day of the competition, or in advance by contacting Kathleen Morrissey at the West Plains Council on the Arts, info@westplainsarts.org or 417-293-7751. Over $500 in prizes will be awarded, organizers said.
Jody Pearson, daughter and apprentice of Master Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program artist Cathy Marriott, of Ava, will take over the role of emcee this year for the event. Pearson grew up dancing with her family to music performed by Holt and his students, along with many other talented musicians.
A copy of the entry form with rules explained is linked to the website at www.oldtimemusic.org.
HISTORY OF OZARKS JIG DANCING
The competition was named in honor of the late Bob Holt, a longtime Ava resident renowned for his old-time fiddle playing for Ozarks square dancers. He received a National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1999 for his music and was a master artist with the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in the Missouri Folk Arts Program.
Within the southern folk tradition, there are several styles of solo, freestyle dances, organizers said. Flatfooting and buckdancing are two of the most common forms. In the Ozarks, the term “jig” is frequently used to describe this style of dance.
Although these dances are all loosely related, they also are distinctly different. The word “jig” dates back at least to 1500 AD and is probably somewhat older in usage. It describes a solo dance that originated in the British Isles where it consisted of repeated hops on one foot while the free foot pointed patterns in the air – heel and toe, front, side or back.
The Ozarks jig draws not only from British tradition, but also from American Indian and African cultures. It basically consists of movement from the hips down while the upper body is held erect, organizers explained. Emphasis is on leg rather than body movements, and the steps are individualistic and virtually limitless. The feet serve as a rhythm instrument, and the sound of the shoes striking the floor beats the time of the music.
Even though several jig dancers may take to the floor at the same time, each dancer’s steps are improvised without regard to the movement of the other dancers. When jig steps are incorporated into square dances, no effort is made to synchronize steps with other dancers in the square, organizers explained.
Another major difference in the British and Ozarks versions of the jig is the rhythm of the dance, they added. In the British Isles, the jig was danced to a lilting 6/8 rhythm. Ozarks dancers prefer extremely fast-paced, driving 2/2 or 2/4 hoedowns. The Ozarks style of jig is a “freestyle” dance form identified with northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
This year’s event is again sponsored by The Fish Shack in West Plains.
Experienced string band musicians from south-central and southwest Missouri who are thoroughly familiar with regional jig dance traditions — David Scrivner, Ashley Hull Forrest, Nathan McAlister and Mason Herbold — will provide live musical accompaniment for the dancing.
2024 festival partners include the West Plains Council on the Arts, the City of West Plains, the Ozark Heritage Welcome Center, West Plains Civic Center and Missouri State University-West Plains. Partial funding for the event is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Additional support has been provided by Missouri Humanities and Missouri Department of Tourism.
For more information on the festival email info@westplainsarts.org, visit the website at www.oldtimemusic.org or follow @old.time.music.festival on Facebook.
