I first learned the Shim Sham in College Station, when I was learning to swing dance (thanks to the Texas Aggie Swing Cats). It wasn't until I started dancing in other cities and states that I realized that this wasn't a local dance, but rather, a very well known line dance in the swing dancing community. In fact, it was the most well known (because yes, there are many swing line dances, including the Jitterbug Stroll and Smiley's Charleston, which may be my favorite). Over the years, I learned that Frankie Manning, one of the founding fathers of Lindy Hop and American Swing Dance, was credited with developing the Shim Sham when he was dancing in Harlem in the 1930s (at Lindyfest in Houston a few years ago, I actually had the pleasure of doing the Shim Sham while Frankie Manning himself called out the moves at the ripe old age of 94).
Frankie Manning in Hellzapoppin', which is considered one of the quintessential swing dance performances of all time. |
Apparently (according to an un-cited article on wikipedia and backed up by a conversation I had in passing with my instructor... so pretty legitimate sources all around... don't judge me), the Shim Sham was first choreographed by Leonard Reed in 1927 as a tap routine. What started as a comedic act entitled "Goofus" that Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant performed when touring through the South, suddenly turned into a beloved tradition once the duo moved to the Shim Sham Club in New York. At the end of each performance, everyone would go up on stage, dancers, singers, and musicians alike, to perform the Shim Sham Shimmy together (thus renamed on account of the chorus girls' penchant for shimmying). The tap dancers would be more technical in their performance, while singers and musicians could shuffle along at their best depending on how adept they were at dancing.
How cool would it be to see him tap dancing? |
Isn't learning fun?!
Though it was a little challenging trying to re-wire my brain to learn a more technically complicated version of a dance I've done hundreds of times, I really enjoyed tap class last night. The dance as a whole was more difficult (especially when we tried speeding it up), but learning some of the steps as they were originally choreographed (or as close to it as we can get now) helped make some things in the swing version click better for me. If nothing else, it's great getting to experience first hand how different dance movements influenced each other.
As a bonus, here is a video I found on the interwebs of the Shim Sham. This video was made for Frankie Fest (also called Frankie 95), which was a celebration of Frankie Manning's 95th birthday. Unfortunately, Frankie was unable to attend the celebration, as he passed away a month before it was to take place. Not only does this video act as a beautiful tribute to a man who spent his life doing what he loved, but it also showcases how different cultures and groups have been able to take the Shim Sham and adapt it over the years.
Have you ever Shim Shammed? Should I have been so surprised that tap dance and swing dance use similar moves and dances even though they were both part of the jazz movement? Does anyone want to watch Hellzapoppin' with me later?
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