Every Saturday since 1987, the floorboards of Brickerville's Grange Hall have rattled under the quickstep of the Brickerville Jig. What began as a handful of families preserving Scottish and Appalachian dance traditions has grown into one of the region's most active folk dance communities, where teenagers and octogenarians share the same worn wooden floor.
From Scottish Settlers to Square-Dance Callers
The dances took root in the late 1700s, when Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers arrived in the valley and brought strathspeys, reels, and country dances with them. By the early 1900s, local callers had traded the formality of the original Scottish formations for a looser, square-dance-influenced system that let dancers improvise more freely. The result is a tradition that is unmistakably tied to this valley: the same basic steps, but faster, more conversational, and shaped by generations of local musicians.
Two Dances That Define the Scene
The Brickerville Jig remains the best-known dance. Performed in sets of four couples, it builds to a signature "kick-and-pivot" sequence that sends dancers spinning toward the center of the floor. Musicians accelerate the tempo in the final thirty-two bars, and by the end, even first-time visitors are usually clapping along.
The Heritage Waltz serves as the evening's counterbalance. Danced to a 3/4 tune composed locally in 1924, it emphasizes long, controlled turns and a brief pause at the top of each measure that newer dancers often find deceptively difficult to master.
Both dances appear year-round at community gatherings and anchor the annual Brickerville Folk Dance Festival, held each September at the Grange Hall. The 2024 festival marks its thirty-seventh year.
Keeping the Tradition Alive
Preservation work happens between performances. The Brickerville Heritage Dance Society, founded in 2003, has videotaped more than forty dances once passed down only by demonstration. "We were losing the older dancers faster than we could learn from them," says director Thomas Vance. "Now every teenager who completes the summer workshop can access the full archive."
That workshop, held each July, draws roughly sixty students. Vance estimates that one in four returns as a regular dancer.
See It for Yourself
The next Brickerville Folk Dance Festival runs September 14–15 at the Grange Hall. Admission is free for dancers under eighteen. Beginner workshops run both mornings, and no partner or experience is required. To see the full schedule or register, visit the Brickerville Heritage Dance Society website.
