Seamless Dance Routine From Carolinas Couple

Feb 16, 2020

There is a strong chance that you have seen shag dancing performances in the past, but you may have seen them described as swing or ballroom dancing, and this is not completely incorrect.

Shag dancing is an American style of swing that is performed to beach music, a subgenre that deserves to be explained further. For the time being, marvel at this amazing shag dancing performance before learning more about this style.

The couple in the video are Caleb Brown and Myers Varn Floyd; they are from the coastal region of the Carolinas, the birthplace of beach music and the shag. Varn Floyd is also in the cheerleading squad of the Carolina Panthers, so you may have seen her at NFL games.

These dancers have been entering national tournaments for years, and they always bring the house down. As you can see, shag dancing looks like swing on steroids, and it matches perfectly to beach music, which is a very energetic form of rhythm and blues.

Beach music developed organically in the Carolinas because coastal residents preferred their doo-wop played fast and raucous; think about Otis Day's version of "Shout" from the film "Animal House" and you get the idea.

Since this was a segregated region of the United States at the time, visiting groups influenced by Motown would play separate gigs; one at the resorts and another one at African-American juke joints, but the young people of the Carolinas wanted to see how couples danced swing at more than 100 beats per minute.

There are a lot of steps involved in the shag, many more than in traditional swing, and the limbs have to be more nimble in order to create the illusion that dancers are slipping on ice. According to Southern Living, while the West Coast swing is more artistic, the Carolina Shag is far more athletic.

In recent decades, shag dancing has evolved so that the female partner is not the only one being twirled; as you can see in this performance by Varn Floyd and Brown, the male partner can also get airborne, and both have to practice a lot to fine-tune their smooth landing.

The acrobatics of the Carolina Shag have made it one of the most spectacular routines at ballroom dancing tournaments. If your friends and family are not familiar with this dance, be sure to let them know about this video. This dancing style is not only 100% American but also rich with history dating back to the post World War II era.