Dancing Outlaw
| Jesco White | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Jesco "Jesse" White July 30, 1956 Bandytown, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Other names | "The Dancing Outlaw" |
| Occupation | Mountain Dancer, Entertainer |
| Years active | 1980s –present |
| Spouse(s) | Norma Jean White (1974–2009 (her death)) Alida Raquel Darvill (2011-present) |
Jesco White, also known as the "Dancing Outlaw" (born July 30, 1956) is an American folk dancer and entertainer. He is best known as the subject of three American documentary films that detail his desire to follow in his famous father's footsteps while dealing with depression, drug addiction, alcoholism, and the poverty that permeates much of rural Appalachia.
Jesco White was born in Bandytown, a tiny community located in the Appalachian Mountains of Boone County, West Virginia, to Donald Ray White (1927–1985), also known as D. Ray White, and Bertie Mae White. White's father, D. Ray, was profiled in the Smithsonian Folkways documentary Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance: Buck, Flatfoot and Tap (1987) as one of the greatest mountain dancers in the United States. Following in the footsteps of his father, Jesco's dance style is a subtle mix of tap and clog dancing that is native to Appalachia. After the death of his father, Jesco obtained D. Ray's tapping shoes which he wears while performing. Jesco White's dancing has been featured in at least three documentaries.
White was married to Norma Jean White (1939-2009) and married Alida Darvill in 2011.
In 1985, while finalizing the film Talking Feet, D. Ray, Jesco, and his younger brother Dorsey were involved in a domestic dispute. Steve Allen Rowe used his 12-gauge shotgun to shoot D. Ray once in the chest, Jesco received one neck wound, and Dorsey a single gunshot to the eye. D. Ray was the only fatality of the disturbance, who was reportedly protecting his youngest son during a drunken disagreement.
In April 2009, White was featured in the documentary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, produced by Storm Taylor and MTV's Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine. The film was premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. White has claimed that his portrayal in the documentary was an act and is not an accurate depiction of the White family.
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