Maggie Valley - Mountain Square Dance
Haywood County, North Carolina has long been known for its dancing. This was the home of Sam Queen’s Soco Gap Square Dancers, who were invited, in 1939, to perform for the king and queen of England at the Roosevelt White House. (See Related items) In 1993, former members of Queen’s dance team, including Richard Queen (Sam Queen’s son), John Reeves and Robert Howell (Sam Queen’s nephews), and Catherine McCrary, joined with other Haywood County dancers at a community center in Maggie Valley to demonstrate their steps and styles for the camera. By this time, steps from the Charleston (1920s) and clogging (1950s) had been incorporated into the local tradition alongside the older style of buckdancing.
For the first part of the whole video, each dancer performs solo; for the SDHP site we have chosen to embed the clip starting when eight dancers form a set to demonstrate a few of the mountain square dance figures, called by Robert “Chief” Howell. (Howell is also featured in a separate interview and dance segment.)
Music: Liz Shaw (fiddle), Lynn Shaw (fiddle and guitar), Trevor Stuart (fiddle and guitar), Travis Stuart (banjo and bass)
Flatfooting is a common part of the dancing at a southern Appalachian square dance. Phil Jamison's YouTube channel on
Western North Carolina Buckdancers, Flatfooters, and Charleston Dancers includes dozens of examples. Each of the dancers also participates in an interview, during which many speak about learning their steps at house dances in their youth. For example, see this part of the interview with Wayne Philips.
Subjects: Southern / Appalachian / Four-couple squares
Tags: Maggie Valley, Robert “Chief” Howell, Sam Queen, Soco Gap Dancers
Item Relations
| This Item | is related to | Item: From Our House to the White House |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Soco Gap Dancers |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Soco Gap Dancers at the White House |
| This Item | is related to | Item: Square Dance in Haywood County, NC |
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Haywood County, North Carolina has long been known for its dancing. This was the home of Sam Queen’s Soco Gap Square Dancers, who were invited, in 1939, to perform for the king and queen of England at the Roosevelt White House. (See Related items) In 1993, former members of Queen’s dance team, including Richard Queen (Sam Queen’s son), John Reeves and Robert Howell (Sam Queen’s nephews), and Catherine McCrary, joined with other Haywood County dancers at a community center in Maggie Valley to demonstrate their steps and styles for the camera. By this time, steps from the Charleston (1920s) and clogging (1950s) had been incorporated into the local tradition alongside the older style of buckdancing.
For the first part of the whole video, each dancer performs solo; for the SDHP site we have chosen to embed the clip starting when eight dancers form a set to demonstrate a few of the mountain square dance figures, called by Robert “Chief” Howell. (Howell is also featured in a separate interview and dance segment.)
Music: Liz Shaw (fiddle), Lynn Shaw (fiddle and guitar), Trevor Stuart (fiddle and guitar), Travis Stuart (banjo and bass)
Flatfooting is a common part of the dancing at a southern Appalachian square dance. Phil Jamison's YouTube channel on
Western North Carolina Buckdancers, Flatfooters, and Charleston Dancers includes dozens of examples. Each of the dancers also participates in an interview, during which many speak about learning their steps at house dances in their youth. For example, see this part of the interview with Wayne Philips.