View source for Carolina shag

{{short description|Partner dance}}
The '''Carolina shag''' is a [[partner dance]] done primarily to [[beach music]] (100–130+ beats per minute in {{music|time|4|4}} time signature). The shag is a recognized dance in modern national and international dance competitions. It became the official [[List of U.S. state dances|state dance]] of [[South Carolina]] in 1984<ref>{{cite web |title=SC Statehouse Students' web page, ''The State Dance - The Shag'' |url=http://www.scstatehouse.net/studentpage/shag.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318235030/http://www.scstatehouse.net/studentpage/shag.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=2008-03-18 |access-date=2008-03-31 |publisher=[[South Carolina General Assembly]]}} </ref> and the official popular dance of [[North Carolina]] in 2005.<ref name=NC>{{cite web | title= Official State Symbols of North Carolina | publisher= State of North Carolina | url= http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/SYMBOLS/SYMBOLS.HTM#dances | work= North Carolina State Library | access-date= 2008-01-26 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080206210322/http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/SYMBOLS/SYMBOLS.HTM#dances | archive-date= 2008-02-06 | url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Technique==
The basic step in Carolina shag is a six-count, eight-step pattern danced in a [[dance slot|slot]]. The rhythm is similar to six-count swing in that it is triple step, triple step, rock step or counted as "one-and-two, three-and-four, five-six".  Eight shag dance steps are in the basic pattern. The "one-and-two" and "three-and-four" steps should take about as much time to complete as the "five-six."

Carolina shag often bears only the faintest resemblance to other dances that share the "[[shag (disambiguation)|shag]]" designation.

==History==

The term "Carolina shag" is thought to have originated along the Atlantic Ocean in Cherry Grove Beach, South Carolina during the 1940s.  According to [[Bo Bryan]], a Carolina shag [[historian]] and resident of [[Beaufort County, South Carolina|Beaufort County]], the term was coined at [[Carolina Beach, North Carolina]]. The Carolina shag is a descendant of Carolina Jitterbug, and its predecessor, Little Apple, which was the white version of the [[Big Apple (dance)|Big Apple]] (whose origins can be traced to Columbia, South Carolina in 1937) after whites sat (after "jumping the [[Jim Crow]] rope") in the balconies in the black clubs to watch the dancing.<ref>''Shag: The Legendary Dance of the South'', [[Bo Bryan]], 1995, 120 pages, {{ISBN|0-9648084-0-4}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
The 1989 film ''[[Shag (1989 film)|Shag]]'' starring [[Bridget Fonda]], [[Phoebe Cates]], [[Annabeth Gish]], and [[Page Hannah]] as four high-school friends on their last road trip together before graduation, was filmed in Myrtle Beach and features the Carolina shag.

In 1997, the [[country music]] band [[Alabama (American band)|Alabama]] recorded the single called "[[Dancin', Shaggin' on the Boulevard]]" referencing this style of dance and the band's own history of playing at the Carolina shore where the dance originated.

In mid- to late August 2018, [[Sirius XM Holdings|SiriusXM satellite radio]] added a channel called Carolina Shag. It replaced a summertime channel dedicated to [[The Beach Boys]]. SiriusXM describes the channel as being "dedicated to the vintage R&B sounds that have meant Summer in the Carolinas for decades".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siriusxm.com/carolinashagradio|title=Carolina Shag Radio|access-date=2020-08-30|archive-date=2019-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308081212/https://www.siriusxm.com/carolinashagradio|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Swing (dance)]]
*[[Collegiate shag]]
*[[St. Louis shag]]
*[[Lindy Hop]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.shagdance.com/ Society of Stranders]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130831165031/http://www.abscdj.com/ Association of Beach and Shag Club DeeJays]

{{Dance}}

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[[Category:Swing dances]]
[[Category:American dances]]