“Te people you meet and the friends
that you make when you Shag become part of your family,” Taylor noted. Taylor has been inducted into the Shag- gers Hall of Fame, recorded instruction- al DVDs and advised Julia Roberts and other actors about the Shag for the film- ing of “Something to Talk About.” In recent years, she established the
Ellen Taylor Foundation for Junior Shaggers and performed at the Grand National Dance Championship in Atlanta with “So You Tink You Can Dance” winner Benji Schwimmer. “Te Shag is
what I grew up with and is in my soul,” Taylor ex- plained. “For me, to live is to Shag.” Shagging is
both a hobby and a passion for many Mount Pleasant- area residents. Disc jockey Jim Bowers, music di- rector at 1340 AM Te Boardwalk, started Shagging in the early 1980s, when a school friend invited him to a Shag class in Santee, South Carolina. “I soon
For years, groups such as the
Charleston Shag Club, the Island- ers Shag Club of Folly Beach and the Summerville Shaggers have preserved the dance and music they love. In 2010, Bowers co-founded the East Cooper Shag Club. Members meet two Fridays a month at Zeus Seafood Grille in Mount Pleasant. “Sometimes we actually don’t have enough dance floor since our club has over 300 members,” Bowers noted. “We have the largest Shag club in Charleston.” From late April
to early Septem- ber, the pier at Mount Pleasant’s Waterfront Park comes alive with the sounds of beach music. Shaggin’ on the Cooper, organized by the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, began in 2009 soon after the pier opened. “All ages are
Since 2009, when the Mount Pleasant
Memorial Waterfront Park pier opened, live bands have delighted dancers at Shaggin’ on the Cooper.
became drawn into the Shag and got caught up in the music,” Bowers recalled. ”Te Shag is a joyful dance that the young and old at heart can enjoy without being judged.” He has played beach music for Shag
clubs from Pittsburgh to the Bahamas. “Te Shag is great since it has many ties to the Lowcountry and par- ticularly the coast. People in Charles- ton grew up either Shagging on the Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island or Folly Beach,” he explained.
invited to let loose, breathe in the ocean breeze and dance the night away un- der the stars,” said Sarah Reynolds with the CCPRC. Live music is
performed at the foot of the pier on
a Saturday night each month and at the town’s Uncle Sam Jam on July 4. Te Mount Pleasant Recreation
Department offers periodic Shag les- sons, as do the local Fred Astaire Dance Studio and Elite Dance International. “Te Shag is being carried all over
the country, from the West Coast throughout the Central and Eastern states and becomes more popular each year,” Taylor noted. “Our dance, the Shag, is very secure.”
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Photo courtesy of Micheline Callicott.
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