Do people still do the Shim Sham?
In fact, the Shim Sham is so important that the tap community has dubbed it the “international hoofers anthem.” Though it’s decades old, the Shim Sham is still done at all types of tap events, from festivals to memorial services.
Who choreographed the Shim Sham Shimmy?
Al Minns & Leon James choreographed a version of the Shim Sham at the end of the 1940s / beginning of the 1950s. Al Minns was one of the dancers who performed in Hellzapoppin’ (see our Origins of Swing Dancing page).
Where was the Shim Sham Shimmy created?
The Three Little Words started to doing the dance at Connie’s Inn in Harlem and they called it Shim Sham (if we trust on Stearns’ Jazz Dance) or they went to the club called Shim Sham where they started to call the dance by name Shim Sham Shimmy (if we trust on Leonard Reed’s own story).
What did the Shim Sham originate as?
Originating from a style of dance termed the ‘Goodus’ in the late 1920s, the Shim Sham Shimmy was first performed on stage in Harlem in the early 1930s as a closing routine that would get all of the singers, dancers and performers on stage together with the audience joining in.
Is the Shim Sham a swing dance?
The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance’s national anthem. For today’s swing dancers, it is a line dance.
Who invented Shim Sham tap?
Leonard Reed
Leonard Reed, a tap dance pioneer who was co-creator of the famous Shim Sham Shimmy dance routine, died here on Monday.
Who created the shimmy?
Gilda Gray
The origins of the shimmy are believed to have come from a vaudeville tap dance routine in the early 1900s called the Shim Sham Shimmy. A 1908 song entitled “The Bullfrog Hop” mentions the shimmy. In 1916 a dancer named Gilda Gray popularized the dance, and claimed to have invented it.
Who created the Shim Sham?
Leonard Reed, a tap dance pioneer who was co-creator of the famous Shim Sham Shimmy dance routine, died here on Monday. He was 97.
How long is the Shim Sham?
The Shim Sham is 10 phrases of choreography (each phrase lasting four 8-counts), so it does not usually take up an entire song.
What is the BS chorus in tap?
The “B.S. Chorus” is a classic tap dance routine known to date back to the 1930’s (perhaps even earlier!). It is a basic one chorus, 32 bar chorus, dance comprised of four steps and a repeating break.
What does shimmy sham mean?
: a swing step with stamps, heel-beats, and runs.