Let Your Feet Do The Talkin,’ directed by Stewart Copeland, tells the story of Rutherford County buck dancing legend Thomas Maupin, who at the age of 70 remains one of the greatest old-time dancers in America. Often seen performing alongside his grandson Daniel Rothwell, Maupin is still collecting national honors. Filled with humor and poignance, Let Your Feet Do The Talkin’ premiered June 20 on The Documentary Channel and has also been featured in several film festivals, including the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana, the Nashville Film Festival and the Rooftop Film Series in Brooklyn, NY.

According to Thomas Maupin and grandson Daniel Rothwell, their art begins with their hearts and ends at their instruments. Maupin has been buck dancing in the old-time tradition since he was a teenager hitchhiking to square dances in Middle Tennessee with his friends.

Numerous awards, trophies and plaques lay stacked in a dresser in rural Tennessee where Maupin spends his weeks tending his garden, feeding the animals and fixing the occasional lawn mower. He was born in Eagleville, Tenn., into a family of nine brothers and sisters, none of whom have ever been musicians but all of whom have been self-taught buck dancers of their own right at some point. He draws his biggest influence from his older brother, Ollie, now passed. The two were incredibly close, and Maupin even dances in Ollie’s shoes from time to time, he said.

“His is a little big . . . it’s a little hard for me to fill his shoes, being they’re a little bigger,” Maupin has said.

His father made a living farming and picking up odd jobs, “doing whatever he could to make a dollar,” Maupin says in the documentary. His mother loved to entertain guests, and the house was always bustling with visitors. To this day, he says he can close his eyes and hear his mother’s bare feet padding on the floor as she danced in their house.

Copeland’s short film leaves the viewer wanting to learn more about Maupin and Rothwell and focuses on an essential element of Southern culture living on in two inspirational human beings. The documentary presents a portrait of a folk icon reflecting on his legacy as a father, teacher and artist.

The film is centered on Maupin and his life-long buck dancing career. It explores the emotional and circumstantial influences of both Maupin and his grandson Rothwell, and examines music’s ability to form and strengthen relationships and lift us above our circumstances.

Saddle Up for Project Help was held Thursday, July 29, at MTSU’s Floyd Stadium. Both Maupin and Rothwell provided entertainment for a heavy turnout of guests coming together to support Project Help, an early intervention program that offers services free of charge to families who have very young children with developmental delays or disabilities. The Western-themed benefit also featured entertainment by Jack and Diane and a wide array of auction items, from a diamond ring to fully restored vintage bicycles donated by Smoopy’s Vintage Bicycles.

Maupin was especially happy to dance at Saddle Up for Project Help. “We’re just glad to be able to support such a good cause that benefits children in our community,” he said. “Project Help does great work for children, and we’re happy to help.”

Rutherford County residents may be largely unaware they are in the vicinity of the American folk treasure Thomas Maupin. In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives designated Murfreesboro as a “National American Music Center for Traditional American Music.”

Rothwell has been awarded the Uncle Dave Macon Days National Old Time Banjo Championship and has performed at the Ryman Auditorium, in addition to festivals all over the U.S. At only 17, he has become a prominent old time banjo player who, with his quick wit, hot licks and uncanny showmanship, rarely finishes a song without a standing ovation.

“Music is a way for us to communicate,” says Maupin. “He speaks with his banjo and I let my feet do the talkin’.” The two can often be seen performing together, be it on giant stages, historic theaters or crowded street corners. Daniel sings and plays his banjo and his grandfather lights up the crowd with his flatfoot style and snappy beats. Someone who’s never seen buck dancing or experienced live old-time music may be surprised to see their toes tapping along with Maupin’s. Even though they excel as individual artists, it is apparent that each appear more present when they perform together, a beauty that cannot be described with words, but comes across vividly on film.

Maupin has won six national old-time buck dancing titles presented by Uncle Dave Macon Days. In the past twenty-five years, he has been the recipient of more than sixty first-place honors, including the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in West Virginia. 2008 brought Maupin the first-place honor in the Nashville Silver Stars talent competition for artists 60 years of age and older.

The duo agrees that the most important lesson they have learned from each other is the virtue of humility. When speaking with them, it’s apparent that humility and graciousness are the features of themselves they are most concerned with, and with their shared lust for life, the two are unstoppable.

“I have the best time now that I’ve ever had, and right now Daniel’s a big part of that. I hate to leave him, but I’m getting ready for that now. I tell him all the time that we’re making memories. And we are. Good ones,” said Maupin.

Rothwell has a lot to say as far as his competition goes. “I like to win,” he admits, “but I know I’ve won competitions because I happen to play a tune the judges like, even though my competitors probably deserved that prize a lot more than I did.”

By fusing poignant interviews, observational footage, and unorthodox camera style, the film rejects a traditional documentary aesthetic, instead seeking visual parallels between characters and environments. Although the film’s narrative is rooted in an American tradition, Maupin’s experience transcends nationalities, ethnicities and cultures and appeals to emotions that are universal, leaving the audience with not only the story of a man, but a greater understanding of the human condition.

Regardless of the heartaches and hardships he has encountered, Maupin has not stopped dancing, all the while gaining adoration, national distinction and most importantly, happiness. Let Your Feet Do The Talkin’ asks the question, “What drives us to perform?” and examines music’s ability to form and strengthen relationships and lift us above our circumstances. Maupin said in an interview, “I figure maybe God’s not through with me here yet. Maybe he’s got some more for me to do.”

The film is set to become available on DVD by Dust-to-Digital and can also be seen on The Documentary Channel, DirecTV channel 263.

For more information on Copeland’s documentary Let Your Feet Do The Talkin’, visit thomascandance.com and check your local listings for airtimes.