It could be worse...
Since I started dancing, I have witnessed few things that divide beginners like the Shim Sham. The moment the first few bars of Jimmie Lunceford’s ‘Taint what you do’ kick in…the room seems to instantly divide into two camps;
- People with big grins, enthusiastically arranging themselves into lines.
- Panicked looking people searching for the nearest darkened corner.
The fact is that some people just love routines. I guess the feeling you get from dancing in a big group is always just a little bit brilliant. It reminds you of watching old musicals as a kid, the ones where everyone just spontaneously bursts into song and dance. I wonder how many people secretly wish London were just a little bit more like the opening scene from Austin Powers.
And then there’s the other camp; people who have a memory like a sieve and find it impossible to remember what’s coming next. People who prefer to be lead and don’t want to have to go it alone. There are also the people who are just too self consciousness to enjoy it. These people are often, but not limited to, beginners. If you’re one of these people, the Shim Sham probably represents 10 phrases of hell. In your head, you’re fumbling through the steps looking like the drunken uncle at a family wedding. From my experience, there are some people who look like they were born to dance the Shim Sham. And then, there are some people who look like they can’t wait for it to finish.
I am currently heading into the ‘dancing like bambi’ phase of my Shim Sham career. However, I’ve decided to embrace it. I used to hate the Shim Sham. Mostly because I am impatient and I want to be good at everything right away. But secondly because I have a memory like a gold fish, the attention span of a toddler and, at times, the coordination of a drunk. But then I thought about it, and here’s what I came up with…
- Isn’t it great to dance a routine to a song that’s actually good? That song is great fun! I mean, when I think of all the songs I know that have routines, I think of family weddings, Saturday night by Whigfield or Aga Doo by Black Lace. Not great moments in musical history. However, anyone who has witnessed such scenes will know how a routine can imbue even the most rhythmically challenged with a truly strange sense of confidence in their dancing abilities…
- Isn’t it also fun to be in control? Learning to lead and/or follow is probably one of the biggest challenges for a new dancer. If it does anything, learning a routine tends to drastically limit the opportunities to make a tit of oneself. At least with the Shim Sham you have;
- Something you can practice by yourself – no partner needed.
- a welcome break from that perpetual worry about what the lead or follow is going to do next!
- Rows of people to hide behind
But also…it’s just dancing, it’s supposed to be fun. It’s an art form, it takes a long time to learn and trust me, you’re never going to improve watching people enviously from the bar. So here’s an idea…Next Swing Pit…join me…I will once again be competing for the title of ‘lamest Shim Shammer.’ Maybe you can knock the crowns off my head? Don’t be afraid to bust out your best beginner Shim Sham complete with forgotten breaks, fluffed kick ball changes and screwed up Shorty Georges. It’s all part of the fun. I’ll be easy to spot, we’ll be the ones having a lot of fun being malco-ordination personified. Embrace the chaos. The only rule is…you can’t win the title more than four Swing pits in a row, that just means you’re not trying 
By the way, if it helps, the Shim Sham was originally called “Goofus” and was done as a comedic farm dance to a song called Turkey in the Straw. Try taking it seriously now.
Laura Knight
‘Newington Green Suzy Q Faker’
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