In this toe tapping 1985 ETV Classic, you won't need a nickel for the juke box! Rick Sebak and his crew from SCETV travel down to the Grand Strand in South Carolina to learn more about the dance known as the Shag. Along the way, they learn about the history of the dance from archival footage and meet some of the dancers who helped popularize the dance and as well as about the historic sights and sounds that made the Shag so beloved in the Carolinas. The footage that Rick's crew captured for the filming of the documentary shows South Carolinians having fun on the beach and dancing to their favorite beach music! Were you there?
Said to derived from the Lindy Hop, the Shag is performed to music known as rhythm and blues otherwise known as beach music. Both the music and dance are structured on time signature and can be performed to almost any tempo, if the basic step is maintained and kept in time to the music. We meet Stanley Catron and Kaye Popp, members of the Shag Hall of fame, who talk about the early days, and we visit the Shag Clubs and dance locations up and down the Grand Strand.
By the time the documentary reaches the tune "Sixty Minute Man", this blast from the past may just have you pulling out your dancing shoes, grabbing a partner. and grooving along to the music in this bright bit of state nostalgia.
Side Notes
- The Shag was designated as the official State Dance by Act Number 329 of 1984. Learn more about John Snow, The Legislator Who Made the Shag the Official State Dance of South Carolina.
- Music genre Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s.
- Beach Music Online.
- 1986 - Beach Shaggers Hall of Fame - Exhibition Dance Joanne Johnson and Jo Jo Putnam.
- 1990 - Beach Shaggers Hall of Fame - Exhibition Dance by Mitch Barkoot with Wanda Holliday-Yow.
- Chairmen of the Board - Carolina Girls.
- Dominoes - Sixty Minute Man.
- The "Big Apple" dance craze, while named after the city, actually originated in Columbia, South Carolina, at the Big Apple Club. This Black-owned juke joint, located in a former synagogue, was a popular gathering spot for music and dancing in the 1930s. The dance, known as the Big Apple, became popular and spread from the club to the University of South Carolina, and eventually across the country.
- Richland Library Tells the Story of the Big Apple Night Club.
- Circle Dance - Big Apple Origins. Herbert (Whitey) White, manager of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers saw the Roxy dancers' show. Herbert (Whitey) Whitey described the dance to Frankie Manning, Whitey's lead dancer, on the phone. Frankie and the Lindy Hoppers were in California filming a movie. Frankie recognized the dance concept as like a "ring shout" that he had experienced as a youth in South Carolina. Ring shouts were common among the Gullah people of South Carolina and Georgia. This rich blend of cultures and history eventually led to Frankie's choreographed version of The Big Apple, featured in the movie "Keep Punchin'." If you listen to the video below, you can hear Frankie calling out the steps for the dancers.
- Tracing the Roots of the "Charleston" Dance in South Carolina. The “Charleston,” meaning both the song and the dance, serves as an excellent example of the cultural effects of the Great Migration. James P. Johnson, whose infectious and original “Charleston” tune is known around the globe, later said he had borrowed its distinctive syncopated rhythm from South Carolina longshoremen who had migrated to New York. Anyone familiar with the traditions of Gullah-Geechee spirituals will recognize that rhythm as an integral part of a Lowcountry shout or “ring shout,” so it’s not difficult to hear some truth in his statement. While working as a pianist in a nightclub frequented by former Charlestonians, Johnson improvised piano music to match their distinctive footwork and handclapping rhythms. Although a native of New Jersey, Johnson also demonstrated his familiarity with the Lowcountry his neighbors left behind in other compositions like his Carolina Shout of 1921 and his extended “Negro Rhapsody” of 1928 called Yamecraw.
- Getty Museum - Stanley Catron and Kaye Popp Demonstrating Steps of The Lindy Hop which has a relationship to the South Carolina State Dance, the Shag.
- Robert P. Crease, swing dance researcher, university professor, and prolific writer has played an important role in the Lindy hop resurgence in New York and beyond since the early 1980s. https://www.frankiemanningfoundation.org/profiles-of-original-lindy-hoppers
- S is for Shag.
- Historical Columbia – 1915 Big Apple on 1318 Park Street.
- Fat Harolds Beach Club | North Mrytle Beach. Learn to Shag!
