A farmer and school bus driver, Spicer’s dedication to buck-dancing garnered him national recognition in 1990, when he was honored as a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow.

Until he met Luther. Luther was not a cultural appropriator. Luther Robinson was not formally trained, but he had been cakewalking, clogging and buck dancing since he was 5 years old.

The Eagleville native is known for his Buck dancing, which is a flat-footed, toe-heel tapping dance that originated in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. “I was born with rhythm,” he said.

“A flat footer plays the tune that musicians are playing. It’s not about making noise with your feet. It’s about making music with a toe and a heel,” Mr. Maupin told me. He looked me in the eye and ...

Spike Jonze has posted a video of cellist Yo-Yo Ma playing while LA-based "Lil Buck" (Damian Woetzel) does an original dance. The music and dancing kick in at about 40 seconds into the clip.

Buck tells some of his story, too, acting out his inspirations, including Crystal Palace dancers and Michael Jackson. The crux of his tale is a crisis, when a mentor told him that his dancing was ...

Until he met Luther. Luther was not a cultural appropriator. Luther Robinson was not formally trained, but he had been cakewalking, clogging and buck dancing since he was 5 years old.