Dancing Fiddler Hillary Klug Awarded FY27 IAF in Dance

From Jared Morrison, Director of Performing Arts

The Tennessee Arts Commission has awarded Hillary Klug its FY27 Individual Artist Fellowship in Dance.

A dancing fiddler based in Nashville, Klug integrates traditional Appalachian fiddle music with percussive dance forms including buck dancing, flatfoot and clogging. A two-time National Buck Dance Champion and Kentucky State Jig Dance Champion, she trained under master buck dancer Thomas Maupin, developing a personal style under his mentorship.

Klug’s career spans both traditional and contemporary stages, from the Grand Ole Opry, Dollywood and Silver Dollar City to international tours through Ireland, England, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, and performances with the Nashville Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra. In 2024 she appeared as a dancing fiddler in Cirque du Soleil’s “Songblazers,” which premiered at TPAC in Nashville before touring. She has released two full-length albums, the second of which reached number three on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart, and is the founder of Dance Appalachia, an effort to spotlight traditional dancers across Middle Tennessee.