John Forrest's essay, “Here We Come A-Fossiling,” is a refreshing and rare effort by a folklorist to articulate an aesthetic distinction between dancing in the folk tradition and dancing in the folk revival. Since neither “tradition” nor “revival” are clearly defined within the discussion, however, Dr. Forrest's argument may seem a little obscure to any but a folklorist or a folk dance enthusiast. At least to this “revivalist,” it also seems a little harsh to claim that there is a wide chasm rather than at most a delicate line between two types of people who both dance the Morris for the love of it.
There is considerable tension between those who engage in formal study of folklife and those who love to sing or dance the materials collected by the field worker. Perhaps one of the most divisive and unwelcome trends emerging out of the development of folklore as an academic discipline has been the quasi-deification of certain performers as “traditional” and a vigorous denigration of “revivalists” or “interpreters.”