Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 30: MUSIC AND DANCE
Dance – Introduction

Baca Pipes dance on the Dancing Green, late 1930s.[burkh_005.jpg]
TAGS: folk dancing, Kentucky Running Set, Cecil Sharp, Maude Karples, Abby Winch Christian, Dorothy Bolles, Dorothy Nace, English Folk Dance & Song Society, Country Dance and Song Society
DANCE
FOLK DANCING
Dance at Pine Mountain Settlement School and its surrounding community has a long and remarkable history. The material in the archive allows the history of dance to be explored from many different perspectives including a deep dive into the European origins of folk dance forms. The periodic debates at the local community level regarding the conflict of dance with religious beliefs and at the educational level regarding its merits, provide rich exploration across many disciplines.
The origins of Appalachian dance forms have been variously assigned to France, England, Germany, and other nations. Importantly, according to Cecil Sharp, the noted British folklorist and founder of the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS), Pine Mountain has contributed its own unique dance form, the Kentucky Running Set. Descriptions of this dance forms abound in the archives literature.
In addition to Cecil Sharp and his co-worker, Maude Karples, there are many individuals who looked to Pine Mountain as a central location for English Country Dancing in the Southeastern United States. The School has a long history with the Country Dance & Song Society (CDSS) and with nearby Berea College and its Berea Country Dancers. Dorothy Bolles, a major figure in English Country Dance instruction, spent many months over a period of many years coming to the School to teach the community the finer points of English Country Dance. Her friends, Evelyn Wells, Abby Winch Christiansen, Dorothy Nace, and others kept English Folk Dance and its traditions alive at the school for years. Later administrations have always found a place for dance in their programming. The School has been fortunate to have had contacts with these deep wells of heritage and experience throughout its history. Consequently, dance has left its mark on the community and on its historical memory.
Following the closure of the Boarding School at Pine Mountain, Dance at the School continued to be integrated into programming for many years. It was an integral program in the Community School and later in the 1970s was offered as part of the programming in the Environmental Education Program. A number of other unique adult programs used folk dance instruction as part of their offerings. Instructors pulled their knowledge from the large collections of rare dance publications, recordings, and photographic documentation gathered at the School. The rich and deep collection of dance material is a testimony to the deep dive and personal commitment that the staff gave to dance and continue to provide to preserve the Folk Dance tradition at the School.
Photographs of dance at the School abound in the archive from the earliest years to the present.
- “Gathering Peascods,” c. 1920s
- Dancing: Circle dance. Bassett Album, c. 1928-29. [pmss_bas098.jpg]
- Dancing: Circle dance. Bassett Album, c. 1928-29. [pmss_bas097.jpg]
- 26 Sword dance routines. Paul Hayes in center-back. 26
- Thanksgiving Ball. A dance event in decorated room. [020_students_07_004.jpg]
- “Cumberland Swapping Meeting and Berea Dancers.” 48_f&neigh_gather_1530
See Also:
DANCE Guide
BIBLIOGRAPHY Music and Dance Collections at PMSS
MUSIC and DANCE Guide
CECIL SHARP AND MAUDE KARPLES VISIT TO PINE MOUNTAIN
PETER ROGERS ACCOUNT OF CECIL SHARP AND MAUD KARPELES VISIT TO PMSS
JAMES GREENE ACCOUNT OF CECIL SHARP AND MAUDE KARPELES VISIT TO PMSS
EVENTS May Day GUIDE
MUSIC PMSS Girls Octet 1936-1938