Since its inception, the American Swing Dance Championships has been consistently held each year. In order to be more reflective of modern dance culture, the competition has undergone a number of stylistic and structural changes throughout the years, as well as additions and deletions of various categories of dance styles. The Internet is a strange place where things that have been around for a long time but have been forgotten may suddenly become popular again.
Recently, someone did this by transferring a video from a VHS cassette to a digital format and then uploading it on the internet. This particular tape was used to record a winning shag dance performance that was performed in the ASDC Open Swing Finals in 1995.
The term “beach bop” or “Carolina beach music” may sometimes be used interchangeably with “shag,” which refers to a family of dances often performed to beach music. Because of this, the shag dance is also referred to as the Carolina shag. This is a pair dance that has developed into a variety of distinct styles throughout the years, one of which being the college shag.
In spite of the fact that the style is considered archaic by young people who are involved in pop culture, it has been approved for use in formal dance competitions in the United States and globally for a considerable amount of time. It is often done to the rhythm of beach music or any other kind of music with a tempo ranging from 100 to 130 beats per minute and a 4-4 time signature.
Jackie McGee and Charlie Womble are the two dancers featured in this specific music video. The dance itself is very conventional with a bit of a 90s flair, but the music choice surely represents what was popular at such events during this time period. They are wearing identical pantsuits, and the song choice certainly reflects what was popular.
This dynamic duo truly knows how to cut a rug, to use a shag carpet metaphor. You follow?
The two musicians continue to play in perfect sync for the whole three-minute session. The video for the dance was shot in Atlanta, Georgia, which was also the location of the finals for that particular year. You can hear the reactions of the rather small audience to the end.
The whole of the dance may now be seen and downloaded from an internet archive. It’s possible that the video’s success was due to children having a good time, but nonetheless, many others will find that watching it brings back fond memories. How much time has passed?
Surprisingly, the finals of the 2019 shag championship are coming up in a rather short amount of time. It will be fascinating to see how the winner from this year stacks up against the winner from over 25 years ago.
