User:CharlesBayne/Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers

In 1962, 24 year old founder James Brown Kesterson created, and a group of teenagers became, the Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers - prominent American folk dancers in the field clogging. The Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers have a very distinctive clogging style wholly developed by James Kesterson. Mike Seeger, a lifelong documentarian of folk music and dancing, and brother of Pete Seeger, stated the Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers were performing some of the first precision clogging and a complement to bluegrass music, ‘an ensemble stage presentation based on solo home-style traditions’. .

The Founder – James B. Kesterson
James Brown Kesterson was born and lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina, North Carolina. His mother was the late Fannie Mae Kesterson, a native of McDowell County, NC who lived most of her life in Henderson County and was the daughter of the late Sidney and Nancy Hobbs Murphy and the wife of Howard H. Kesterson who died in 1966. After attending Edneyville High School, where he lettered in basketball, he began a career in Auto Body repair and often drag raced hot rods on ¼ mile racetracks in Asheville and Hendersonville. He is known throughout Henderson County by friends and acquaintances as the owner of a 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe, owned for the past 54 years.

The Dancers
This new group of highly energetic dancers was formed to dance in competitions, but soon found they had talents for singing and playing musical instruments, allowing the group to expand their performances. This change was a tremendous benefit in that up until this time all revenue from performances was exhausted paying a band to accompany the dancers. Dancer and Singer, James’ wife, Arlene Kesterson, made a commercial album of traditional bluegrass music favorites. Most of the dancers had not played high school sports, but they soon discovered that the endurance required was similar to that of long distance runners. And oh the sights they saw. Travel to places like New Orleans, the Bahamas, New York City and Washington DC; and the honor of representing their state and their nation was overwhelming. Those that began this group left a legacy that was to live for almost 40 years. As one member would depart to start a career or to get married and start a family, a new starry eyed teen would come along to fill the void. Over the years, the dance group was managed by Joe Bly and appeared on the marquee with the likes of: Peter (Yarrow), Paul and Mary, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Theodore Bikel, the Chad Mitchell Trio, the Kingston Trio, Doc Watson, Judy Collins, Mike and Pete Seeger.

Later Dance and Band Members Bios
Debbie Warren, Pat Warren

Smithsonian: American Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. The Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers performed on the Smithsonian mall several times and there exists within the institution several audio and video recordings listed below.

Sunday 7/25/65 – New Folks Concert
New Folks, though due to start at 2:20, actually started about 2:30 under the three-story high canopy of the Main Stage, as the skies continued to cloud up. The concert being about three hours, everyone would ideally get 15 minutes, though, again, this didn't always hold true. As Robert Jones explains : "Somebody might have sung 30 minutes, then somebody sang two tunes, then another person sang two tunes.... It was not formatted, it just sort of fell in like that. And because of the technical situation, which basically was one or two microphones, maybe two at the most, maybe three at some places, one was limited -- you couldn't have three people playing together, because two people probably would not have a chance to be heard (where only one mike was available). And the recording was [done inside] just a small little van behind them, recording them". Those limitations understood, first up was Byron & Lue Berline, a father and son fiddling duo from Oklahoma, accompanied by two of Boston's finest, Jim Rooney on guitar and Bill Keith on banjo. Spider John Koerner followed, accompanied by fellow Minnesotan, Tony Glover; followed in order by the Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers, Hamilton Camp, Kathy & Carol (performing an acapella version of the Fariña-composed, A Swallow Song, and had probably, as a courtesy, checked with Dick to make sure they weren't doing it too), Mark Spoelstra, the Chambers Brothers ( a wonderful gospel group transforming themselves into a formidable rock band, now dressed-down from their morning appearance at the Religious Concert) - joined by Joan Baez and Sam Lay on drums from the Butterfield Band), singer-songwriter Patrick Sky, followed by another stage-stomping appearance by the dancers, and then Gordon Lightfoot capping off his debut weekend. The Charles River Valley Boys, also in the program as slotted here, opted instead to perform that morning at the Religious Concert. With the skies thickening and growing darker and the chances for rain increasing the odds with every flutter of the breeze, Dick and Mimi Fariña took stage somewhere about 4:45. .

Videos
best video on Jim and his early group - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs2j8f7H2WY