Shim Sham

[Gav]

I had my first experience of this last week and I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment.

See it here. (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bjfM4Wrj9UI)

So, is it:


Solo swing dancing?
Line dancing to swing music?
A stroll?
Just a bit of fun?
A useful teaching aid to get beginner Lindy Hoppers to be more confident?

[Dreadful Scathe]

i've always prefered this one (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5MiMrtI3aQ4)

[Minnie M]

i've always prefered this one (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5MiMrtI3aQ4)
:clap:
From the original Hairspray - I think they took it out of the modern day one :sad:

[Minnie M]

I had my first experience of this last week and I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment.

See it here. (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bjfM4Wrj9UI)

So, is it:


Solo swing dancing?
Line dancing to swing music?
A stroll?
Just a bit of fun?
A useful teaching aid to get beginner Lindy Hoppers to be more confident?


as in Frankie Manning's arrangement, which I personally believe to be ..........

A useful teaching aid to get beginner Lindy Hoppers to be more confident

Where's Straycat when you need him :flower:

[straycat]

Where's Straycat when you need him :flower:

Here :D

[straycat]

OK - I know I voted for everything, which wasn't very helpful, but it could be called all of the above.

I'm not big on strolls myself, and have only recently started actively trying to learn 'em - I think the big advantage of doing them is that you learn a number of very useful jazz steps, which can be a big help in all aspects of your dancing - and - as Minnie says, it's a good confidence builder. Ryan Francoise actually choreographed a stroll a while back (the Jitterbug Stroll, which has since become pretty popular) precisely as a way of teaching specific jazz steps.

The Shim Sham actually started out life as a tap routine, but there's been a number of adaptations for swing dancers - I think Frankie's is the best known.

[dave the scaffolder]

I did a shim sham class on a weekender about 3 years ago, involved a lot of slapping your feet on the floor.

Bit of a story here when I used to put up the staging for Franco's weekenders a shim sham class was held on the stage. There was so much foot slapping on the stage that the corner dropped by about 2 inches. This was the side that my able assistant did up. My fault for not checking it, all ended well with a quick readjustment, assisted by the helpfull Vegtable. Stone me that was a while ago now. I wonder if my assistant at the time remembers this.

DTS XXX XXX

[Gav]

For anyone that's interested in learning the Shim Sham (and I know there's at least one forumite), I just came across this instructional video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I4GooehUuA).

Interesting to note how some parts of it are taught slightly differently depending on the teachers.

[Double Trouble]

Oh wow! I LOVE shim sham. This new you tube clip you put up Gav...I'd do it at home but isn't it all the wrong way round?

I saw another one that Frankie Manning did, but he did it with his back to the camera so you were following him from behind, which made more sense to me.

By the way...I've done as instructed and clicked on a particular move (tacky Annies, if you're interested) and I can't understand a word that Jonny Foreigner is talking about! lol!

[Gav]

Oh wow! I LOVE shim sham. This new you tube clip you put up Gav...I'd do it at home but isn't it all the wrong way round?

I saw another one that Frankie Manning did, but he did it with his back to the camera so you were following him from behind, which made more sense to me.

By the way...I've done as instructed and clicked on a particular move (tacky Annies, if you're interested) and I can't understand a word that Jonny Foreigner is talking about! lol!

Lol, I'll go through it with you tonight. :friend:

[Double Trouble]

Lol, I'll go through it with you tonight. :friend:

Ha! You know me better than that!

Right I've done the first move (shim, sham), got it, Done the second move (full break), easy, done the third move (pushes and crossovers), bit tricky, but got it now. So far so good!

I'll have this nailed by the time you get home from work and I'll be showing you how to do it properly! :na:

It's great that they show you how to do each move step by step. The only thing is that when Jonny Foreigner is s'plaining the moves he refers to his left side as left, when actually, it's my right, but as I can't understand much of what he's saying anyway, I'm ignoring the dialogue and following the moves instead. Brilliant! Thanks for posting, this beats doing the ironing any day! You can do your own shirts! :D

[Gav]

Ha! You know me better than that!

Right I've done the first move (shim, sham), got it, Done the second move (full break), easy, done the third move (pushes and crossovers), bit tricky, but got it now. So far so good!

I'll have this nailed by the time you get home from work and I'll be showing you how to do it properly! :na:

Lol, there isn't a right and a wrong way, just many different variations dear. :whistle:

[Double Trouble]

Boogie Backs, Boogie Forwards and Shorty Georges. :eek: :tears: :(

[Gav]

Boogie Backs, Boogie Forwards and Shorty Georges. :eek: :tears: :(

lol, boogie backs - there's a couple of variations you can try (I'll show you later)
Boogie forwards are easy
Shorty Georges look tricky, but they're not so bad.

[Gav]

Compared to other Shim Sham instructions this one is especially good for newcomers as they've simplified the full-breaks and half-breaks. I found those hard to get nailed in the lessons, but I'm glad it did it that way. Now I can choose whichever style I like the most. :clap:

One thing to remember to make sure you're in time with everyone else, is that all the moves start on the 8 beat, not on the 1. :eek:

[Double Trouble]

lol, boogie backs - there's a couple of variations you can try (I'll show you later)
Boogie forwards are easy
Shorty Georges look tricky, but they're not so bad.

S'ok, I've got it! It looks tricky when you're watching it but broken down into sections it's much easier.


One thing to remember to make sure you're in time with everyone else, is that all the moves start on the 8 beat, not on the 1. :eek:

Yeah, I've got that. Sorta comes naturally to me with my jazz piano training. :waycool:

Right! I'm all set! I'll show you all my new moves when you get in, although I suspect if I don't practice them non-stop til you get in I'll forget the lot by then. :blush:

[Gav]

Right! I'm all set! I'll show you all my new moves when you get in, although I suspect if I don't practice them non-stop til you get in I'll forget the lot by then. :blush:

Next, the Jitterbug stroll...

(lot's of Shorty Georges and SuzyQs)

[djtrev]

...Lots of stuff from DT and Gav......




It felt just as though I was sitting in your kitchen at breakfast time.

[Double Trouble]

It felt just as though I was sitting in your kitchen at breakfast time.

Oh God no! We don't actually speak to each other in real life! :wink: