Learn the Shim Sham - for Lindy Hop and Swing Dance

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The Shim Sham may be the national anthem of tap, but it is one of the cornerstones of Lindy Hop line dance. Lindy Hoppers and tap dancers all over the world know it, so when you do the Shim Sham, you're connected to jazz loving people everywhere. I don't prefer to spend a lot of time pausing and breaking down simpler movements, so, in addition to talking about this history, we'll be dancing a LOT in this video. Hope you have fun!
FRANKIE MANNING & ERIN STEVENS LESSON
• Shim Sham - Frankie Ma...
SUPPLEMENTARY VIDEOS
- Learn About Phrases: • Basic Music Structure,...
- Shorty George: • Shorty George - Vernac...
- Half Break: • Half Break - Vernacula...
SOURCES
- Jazz Dance, Jene & Marshall Sterns
- www.dancespiri...
- authenticjazzd...
- www.streetswin...
- www.sugarfoots...
MUSIC:
The Brooks Prumo Orchestra
brooksprumoorch...
MERCH:
Prints: www.etsy.com/s...
Other: lauraglaess.th...
50% of the money made from this channel is donated to organizations that support African Diasporic art forms, because Lindy Hop is a Black dance, and preserving and cultivating Blackness is very important to its identity. My current charities are:
Black Lindy Hopper's Fund: blacklindyhopp...
National Jazz Museum in Harlem: jazzmuseuminha...

[@plenarygrace]

I've never seen anyone demo front and back, side-by-side...BRILLIANT!! Thank you!

[@LauraGlaess]

I thought it might be helpful ;)

[@skane3109]

Laura you are an AMAZING teacher and dancer. Seen a lot of shim sham tutorials but this one is in a class of its own. Beautifully presented. Thank you ❤

[@cyrilapo6579]

Totally brillant. So generous, so well explained, so historical; boooom; you are killing it!

[@LauraGlaess]

Oh, that makes me feel so goooood!!

[@gisleneappel2751]

Thank you so much for this fantastic lessons! My shim sham is really better now and I can dance on the dance floor this weekend 🎉😊

[@alanbishop6937]

Lol, I was just starting to wish Laura would yell "CROSS OVER", as one does, and of course she did! 😉

[@LauraGlaess]

Yeah, I tried to cover as many of the traditions as I could by myself. The voice over is a little jarring to me, but I'm figuring it out!

[@meganeverson97]

I'm so glad I came across this because I constantly struggle with the half breaks and the transitions to the next move

[@eckdavid2472]

This is a great follow-up to Erin and Frankie Manning’s video. There you learn the ABCs of the shim sham and here you get a massive amount of practice. Thanks for all the great videos!

[@sailorsnook]

Great dancer, beautiful video, fabulous styling. If however you aren't a talented dancer yourself and you don't already know the basics of the Shim Sham then learning it from this will be very, very difficult indeed.

[@lakegirl1916]

Awesome video! So glad I’ve found you!! Shim shamming along with you over here in Spain.

[@palerider3857]

I've recently taken up Lindy here in Dublin and have just found your channel. I'm learning so much from your videos. So much fun and loads of energy. What's not to love about swing? Thankyou 😊

[@marychan8245]

Thx for demonstrating front and back perspectives

[@LauraGlaess]

I try to be helpful

[@andrewmass1414]

Fabulous. So good. Thank you.

[@JTGriegC]

Instantly subscribed. You're an amazing teacher by nature, an even an awesome-er dancer. Truly innovative, I'm all in for this!

[@richardjackson4128]

Had our first lesson in Lindy hop and they Finished with this so hopefully I’ll have more chance of keeping up 😂

[@MrTonyLockett]

Thanks for the clear explanation, Laura. The two camera angles and the breakdown of the different moves are really useful.

[@LauraGlaess]

Glad it was helpful! Trying hard!

[@mich.5640]

Whew! that was such fun!! Haven't done any exercise for 5 months but that was totally inspiring. Nevermind exhausting!

[@LauraGlaess]

Great job! Dancing is wonderful. Exercise that's not boring (for me) :P

[@Zudy_kim]

Im just start to learning swing dance, and this video is So helpful and easy to understand ! Thank u

[@blueeyedbull67]

Damn you're good! Loved you at Beantown camp this year!

[@calebjimmysmith]

An excellent lesson for an excellent dance! Thanks, Laura. Time to forward this to all my friends who need to learn the shim sham.

[@emilysego2400]

I wish I could click the like button 100 times! Thank you so much, I used to dance this every week for years and I sadly haven't been dancing for a long time (also years). Had so much fun dancing along with you!

[@LauraGlaess]

This makes me so happy! Thank you!

[@jacindakee7228]

Thank you so much for these videos! Love learning from you!

[@thulet110]

Your teachings are always inspiring. Even the SHIM SHAM!

[@MrAGregan]

Thanks for this, Laura :D. Please, please, please do a video like this for the Tranky Doo and/or the Big Apple!

[@LauraGlaess]

They are definitely on the list!

[@judeselee]

Even better vibrate n base on video!! :) Thx Laura!

[@maxolly9121]

bellissimo!!! grazie mille Laura 🤗🤗, un saluto da Genova (Italy) , Happy New Year!!

[@rosa8]

I love Lindy Hop and Swing Dance! Nice work! Thank you! 👍❤️

[@stephfairlessNZ]

Wonderful as always Laura. Also from the Sugarfoot Stomp team here in NZ thank you for sharing our link on the history.

[@LauraGlaess]

Thanks for having one! I tried to learn as much as I could and your site was helpful.

[@OnWoodiz]

Thank you very much Laura !! I think I'll spend a lot of time on your channel, it's very well explained

[@LauraGlaess]

Thank you! That means a lot to me!

[@martinchilvers3870]

Fabulous as always!

[@Marta_in_B]

Fantastic. Thank you so much!

[@yurymishanin4450]

Это лучший разбор рутинки! Лора - ты супер! Great, that's awsome! More, please more:)

[@wmtejada]

This is amazing!

[@laurab9928]

omg THANK YOU

[@flavie8679]

Amazing video ! Thank you so much :)

[@Timbotao]

wahhhh .... I've always seen the Shim Sham done around the scene, and it always does comes up all over the World!...A couple of times I have just tried to join in ... but like you demonstrate here, it really is actually a bit more complicated than it looks! ... I will have to work on it... a .... lot... ha ha :(

[@Timbotao]

ps. this is by far the best shim sham lesson I have ever had!

[@josephatthecoop]

Thanks you so much! This is especially helping me with two things that have been tripping me up: starting phrases on the 8, and the tricky transitions, especially the one from the Tacky(sp?) Annie to the break. Your very specific “do this!” is just the ticket. Small sadness: the link to the Shortie George video goes to “this video not available”.

[@LauraGlaess]

Thanks for the head's up! I fixed it.

[@lisaahmari7199]

Someone may have mentioned this but if you want to see Frankie Manning dance when he was in his 20's he is in a mind blowing dance scene called Hellzapoppin'. You can pull it up on KZbin, here. I have watched it 50 times. Never ceases to amaze me!

[@LauraGlaess]

It's true. Gorgeous dancer. But really the whole Whitey's team was just full of gorgeous dancers. It's a kind of a tragedy that modern lindy hoppers got to hear from so few of them.

[@Mountainbridesvoice]

Thank you Laura, I love this!

[@marilyndill8963]

Fantastic!!! Thanks so much!

[@dntlss]

The way they used to dance back then its a miracle they all didn't die of a hard attack,talk about a workout,lol

[@LauraGlaess]

lol!

[@luanndalton]

Hi Laura, Love your videos. Can you recommend dance shoes for this style of dance?

[@LauraGlaess]

So many options! There are actually several shoe companies out there that cater specifically to Lindy Hoppers now. Slide&Swing, Applejacks, Saint Savoy, Swivels, and more. I also just takes comfortable flat-soled shoes I like and put leather on the bottom. Here's an ancient video I made on how. One day, I will remake it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaLGnYWCnq-Xnrc

[@LeahJenae]

I can’t do heels. What shoes are you wearing? What brands do you recommend ?

[@LauraGlaess]

I have a hard time with heels, too. Honestly, shoes are so personal. Sneakers work. Men's dress shoes work great, too. This particular brand is slide and swing, which is a dance specific shoe: www.slideandswing.es/ To me, it's not necessary to get a dance specific shoe, but if you want something ready made, it's a great choice!

[@lauraupsall5091]

I’ve just started swing and found your shim sham instruction, loved seeing the front and back views So helpful!! Is there a beginners Swing? ( I’m in Australia )

[@careanmayne5722]

I was wondering , do you know the name of another line dance in swing? I saw them do it at an event and i forget the name. I think it starts with a t lol

[@moo639]

When you were teaching the boogie back I was horrified to see you clapping on 1, 3, 5 and 7, but when you do the final dance at the end you clapped on 8, 2, 4 and 6 as you should. Thanks.

[@LauraGlaess]

Huh, are you talking about the one ~20 minutes in? I think I might be hearing the timing of that song differently than you are. Yes, claps, snaps, etc should totally be on the evens unless you are being super clever and intentional ;)

[@grace.hamacher]

Where did you get your pants and blouse? I'm looking for clothes like that and I can't seem to find them

[@LauraGlaess]

Thank you! It's a lot of thrift store work and hand-me-downs. The blouse was a hand-me-down from my stylish sis, and the pants were size 12 thrift store pants that I remade to fit me.

[@ksyourak7437]

❤❤

[@danselb8693]

bellissima

[@shealeighhanna1233]

Ok... So I'm loving the song for the teaching of the break and Google is failing me hard. What song is this?!

[@LauraGlaess]

I'm glad you like it! It's "What's Your Name?" Originally recorded by Fats Waller: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWnMiHeApsija9U This one is actually my husband's band, the Brooks Prumo Orchestra: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6e9dJiGpL6Mp5o If you want, you can get his album on bandcamp: brooksprumoorchestra.bandcamp.com/

[@bluedancelilly]

This is an adaptation from the original Leonard Reeds tap dance - the original Shim Sham. This is a Lindy Hop version.

[@LauraGlaess]

True - a simplification.

[@LindsayRiddle-np8wy]

18:06

[@Zudy_kim]

2:10 스탭 시작 6:50 스탭 바꾸기

[@VitoriaGomes-vd7hv]

❤️❤️❤️

[@admcmlxxii2662]

Studia

[@pilargarciacorredor5249]

Shim shan beginers

[@Anna-le2jc]

I appreciate the work you’ve put into this and how well presented it is, but for learning the shim sham from scratch this really isn’t a helpful video and I don’t think it should be labelled ‘for beginners’. Trying to piece together what the actual moves are without explanation has unfortunately been a really frustrating experience for me that has put me off learning this. As a refresher for someone who has done the dance before, this is great! But unfortunately the ambiguous labelling has just made this really hard to follow and made me feel bad about it, honestly. I appreciate your work a lot, but I think maybe the marketing of this one is not quite what you were aiming for.

[@adelineliss5696]

Mzzjzks

[@DJA-BOMB]

I cannot hear your voice in this video!

[@OzzYG4]

then we must feel guilty for our race...

[@LauraGlaess]

I actually disagree. Since race isn't something you can help, it doesn't make much sense to feel guilty about it. If you mean "white" - as a white person doing a Black dance, I don't feel guilty about my race, but I do want to make sure I know where it comes from because that effects how the dance is done. And as a white teacher teaching a Black dance, I REALLY want to make sure that I let anyone learning from me know which cultures the dance came from (not mine) -- especially since "swing dancing" is frequently represented by white people. Gotta give Black artists their flowers!

[@alanbishop6937]

I try to follow along with the Frankie video a couple times a year to make sure I remember--thanks for teaching the variations, sharing the oral history, picking some great music, and inspiring personal expression--I'm excited to have a new video to practice with!

[@LauraGlaess]

Well, I can't compare to Frankie, but it's a different take.