Going Out Shagging AROUND TOWN
Above: South Carolina’s first lady of Shag, Ellen Taylor, and husband Carl dance at the Pad in Myrtle Beach. Lef t: Shaggin’ on the Cooper is a spring and summer tradition at Mount Pleasant ’s Memorial Waterfront Park pier.
A BY AMY KEHM
CROSS THE COUNTRY, AT weddings near and far, folks flock to the dance floor for the Electric Slide. Te YMCA sends party-goers’ arms flapping into the air. Te Twist makes even the tamest wallflower bloom to the occasion.
Here in the Lowcountry, there is a dance with an abso- lutely passionate following, and those who take to the dance, live the dance. It is the Shag. In 1984, with the stroke of Gov. Rich-
ard Riley’s pen, the Shag became the official dance of South Carolina. Its roots burrow deep beneath the Lowcountry. According to various accounts, Te Shag, or Carolina Shag, evolved in the 1940s and 1950s as a mutation of dances such as the Jitterbug and the Lindy Hop. It also bridged the divide – sort of – between “white music” and “black music.” For years, people had danced to swing and big band
music. Even after the rhythm and blues music of black artists crept into dance halls, it remained taboo on most radio sta- tions. Nevertheless, white teenagers gathered around coastal jukeboxes to embrace the new and exciting sound. Some swear that Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, is the birthplace of the Shag, while others argue that it was born in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Regardless of where the Shag drew its first breath, most people agree that teens felt the jerky movements of prior dances did not fit the relaxed beach life, so they created a smoother version. Referred to as “beach dancing,” it gained traction in the Carolinas. “Most instructors today, if not all of them, use a six- count basic, which is a triple, triple, rock step,” explained Ellen Taylor, a well-known personality in the Shagging world. “Te Shag is a smoother version of the old Jitterbug. Instead of heavy footwork and busy upper body movements, it is a calmed down, softer, sexier style.” Taylor lives in Edisto Beach, southwest of Charleston. A
North Carolinian by birth, she grew up in Winnsboro, South Carolina, just above Columbia. As a teenager in the ’50s, dur- ing family outings to Myrtle Beach, she visited the Pavilion Club, where the Shag reigned. “Once you dance the Shag, it becomes part of a lifestyle
and you just have to,” Taylor said. Taylor honed her Shagging skills in North Myrtle Beach – at places such as Robert’s Pavilion, Sonny’s Pavilion and the Pad. In the late ’50s, when she and her husband moved to the Charleston area, she continued to follow her passion – danc- ing regularly at spots such as the Folly Beach pier.
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Photo courtesy of Micheline Callicott.
Photo courtesy of Ellen Taylor.
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