Thomas Maupin, a Tennessee folk legend and NEA National Heritage Fellow, is joined by his grandson/accompanist Daniel Rothwell as he shares his knowledge and lifelong love of buck dancing in the flatfoot style.
About Thomas Maupin:
Born in 1938 in rural Eagleville, Tennessee, Thomas Maupin was surrounded by dancers on both sides of his family. Along with older relatives and his nine brothers and sisters, he “traded steps” as a child at domestic and community square dances. His maternal grandmother, Will, lived with the family and danced in a flatfoot—often barefoot—unadorned country style. Her influence on Maupin was strong, and today, more than her movement, it is her sound—the metric thud of heel meeting wooden floor—that he remembers. As Maupin entered adulthood, rural dances waned. Once married with children and employed in an aircraft factory, he took a 15-year hiatus from dancing. With his children grown and with the emergence of regional old-time music contests, Maupin returned to dancing and found a new community of traditional musicians and steppers. His dance continued to develop as he became an active competitor. In performance, Maupin is most animated from bent knees to shoe soles, his form firmly anchored at his narrow waist. His lean upper body swivels with subtle emphasis, in graceful balance with his toes and heels. His feet tap, stomp, and slide a sophisticated rhythm grounded in the accents of traditional fiddle and banjo tunes. Distinguished by his impressive crisscrossing and scissor steps, Maupin is known to dance at times without instruments, as his feet and vocal patter make a fully functional musical ensemble. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Maupin became a mainstay at music contests in the South. His precise musical timing and collaborative spirit made him favored among old-time string bands, who worked with him more in a symbiotic relationship than an accompanying one. Over the next three decades, he won state championships in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Indiana, as well as several national and regional championships in buck dancing, clogging, and freestyle dance. In the 2000s, Maupin began a musical partnership with his grandson Daniel Rothwell, an award-winning traditional banjo player. Their relationship was portrayed in the 2010 documentary Let Your Feet Do the Talkin’. In 2009 Maupin was given the Trail Blazer Award from the Uncle Dave Macon Days Festival and in 2011 he earned the Tennessee Governor’s Folklife Heritage Award. Over the years, he has patiently guided many young dancers on festival grounds or in his open house, and inspired hundreds more through workshops and exhibitions at numerous major festivals and heritage events. Maupin has evolved a deceptively simple artistic philosophy: follow the note of the tune, dance the music that you hear, and make your feet say something.
𝘉𝘪𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦.
About Daniel Rothwell:
Daniel plays a rambunctious style of banjo commonly referred to as clawhammer. He has always loved old-time music. He was first introduced to the clawhammer style when he was two years old and saw Leroy Troy performing. He loved the banjo from that moment on. Daniel's grandfather Thomas Maupin took him to old time and bluegrass festivals at an early age. Daniel's main focus when they were at the festivals was to find the banjo players. He was able to start playing the banjo at age 11 and is self taught, with the exception of a few good pointers along the way from his friends. Daniel has been given pointers from some of the best including Jim Costa, Rebekah Weiler, Dan Knowles, Matt Kinman, and Phillip Steinmetz. Marlin Rood of Springfield, TN took a special interest in Daniel and mentored him to a higher level. Daniel has won many competitions across the South including the 2010 National Championship and the 2011 Tennessee State Championship. He has performed on the Grand Ole Opry, at Merlefest, The Ryman Auditiorium, IBMA's Kids on Bluegrass and Old Time Opry Variety Show and has made several guest appearances on Ernest Tubb Record Shop's Midnight Jamboree with Bluegrass Legend Jesse McReynolds. This is just to mention a few of his accomplishments. Daniel always entertains the audience with his banjo playing and jokes. Daniel shares his love and respect for past musicians such as Uncle Dave Macon, Stringbean, Grandpa Jones and Bashful Brother Oswald. Their influence is part of his style and show, while his emphasis on rythym and timing comes from his grandfather.
𝘉𝘪𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Also appearing in this documentary is Jake Fennell, a long-time apprentice of Thomas Maupin and a champion buck dancer. Thank you, Jake!
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