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The "Shag" Arthur Murray taught was actually a newer version of the "Collegiate Shag" that was done in the 1920's by the College kids but was slightly different than the "Collegiate "
or " 8 COUNT Swing Bal." as done
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today.
The Shag was originally called the "Flea-Hop " in New Jersey and in North Carolina as the "Sugar Foot " and only in the deep south as the Shag in 1931 (Look Mag-1938). It uses a six count basic rather than four or eight.
It is basically a Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick, or six count rhythm, similar to the "belly roll" of the Carolina Shag but allot faster. The lead holds the follower very closely with very fast feet (hopping/stomping) movements, and a few
body moves and many variations. The Murray Shag eventually gave way to a modified version called "Balboa ".
A good film clip of this is "Arthur Murray and his Shag Dancers "- this short film is not available commercially, but many swing dancers have copies of this tape. It is basically a quick instructional video on how to do the
shag with demo's and a few performances by his students at the end do a team type routine for the audience. The 1937 and 1938 Harvest moon ball featured a Collegiate Shag Division.
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Birth Place |
Creation Date |
Creator |
Dance Type |
| North
Carolina |
1930s |
n/a |
Swing |
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Posters, Lobby Cards etc. |
Sheet Music Covers |
Music Titles |
| n/a |
The
Shag |
New
Orleans Shag |
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Shag (Betchet) |
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The
Shag (Ager) 1937 |
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Dancers, Choreographers etc. |
Political |
| Arthur
Murray |
John Englert (1937) |
n/a |
| Arthur Murray Shag Dancers |
Ruth Scheim (1937) |
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| Peggy Keating and Leonard Rowan |
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Books, Magazine Articles on the dance... |
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
| Let's
Dance |
Murray,
Arthur |
1937 |
Standard
Brands Co. |
| "How
To Dance The Shag" |
Murray,
Arthur |
1/4/1938
|
Look
Magazine |
| How
To Become A good Dancer |
Murray,
Arthur |
1938 |
Simon
& Schuster |
| Ballroom
Dance Course - Home Study |
Grant,
Lawrence |
1938 |
n/a |
| Teach
Yourself the Latest Dance Steps |
Hostetler,
Lawrence |
1938 |
Home
Institute |
| The
Shag of Bulgaria |
Staff
Writer |
4/1939 |
the
Dance Magazine |
| How
to do the Newest Dance Steps... |
Grant,
Lawrence |
1940 |
Home
Service |
| 'Arthur
Murray Dance Book' |
Murray,
Arthur |
1941 |
n/a |
Musicians |
Singers |
Poets / Writers |
| Milton
Ager |
n/a |
n/a |
| New
Orleans Feetwarmers (1932) |
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| Richard
M. Jones |
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| Sidney
Betchet |
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Misc. Research Words that may be related ... to
help your searches |
| Collegiate |
Raccoon Coat |
Stomping |
- |
| Flappers |
Ragtime |
Straw Hat |
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| [ PIC1
] [ Old
Shag Cheat Sheet ] |
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| Basic
Step ... |
| Movement
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Count
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Speed
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| Back-Point (LT) |
1 - 2 |
Slow |
| Step (LT) |
and |
change weight |
| Back-Point (RT) |
3 - 4 |
Slow |
| Step (RT) |
and |
change weight |
| Step / Step (LT-RT) |
5 - 6 |
Qk-Qk |
* Leader starts left, Follower Right
* Couples faces each other. >
* Stiff/ upright Ballroom Hold, Follower leans fwd., slightly
into Leader.
* Fast Music (about 180bpm) 4/4. >
* On 'Change Weight' (and count) its a stomping step |
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