thumb|The Shim Sham being danced in Montreal in 2022

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. to the tune Turkey in the Straw. Only after the final Shorty George is completed do the dancers break into freestyle Lindy Hop.

The music

The Shim Sham goes best with swing songs whose melody lines start on beat eight, as does the choreography. An obvious choice is The Shim Sham Song (Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra), which was written specifically for this dance and has musical effects (e.g., breaks) in all the right places. However, today the Shim Sham — particularly the Frankie Manning version — is danced more often to "'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That Cha Do It)" by Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra, or "Tuxedo Junction" by Erskine Hawkins. In fact, it is typical now at a Lindy dance party for dancers to start up a Shim Sham whenever "'Tain't What You Do" is played. There is also a recording "Stompin' at the Savoy" with the George Gee band where Manning himself calls out the moves.

The steps

These are the steps of the original 32-bar Shim Sham:

Step 1: The shim sham/double shuffle

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Bar

! Time

! Steps

! Left/Right

|-

| 1

| 8e1

| stomp spank step

| RRR

|-

|

| 2e3

| stomp spank step

| LLL

|-

| 2

| 4e1e

| stomp spank ball change

| RRRL

|-

|

| 2e3

| stomp spank step

| RRR

|-

| 3+4

|

| repeat with sides reversed

|

|-

| 5+6

|

| repeat bar 1–2, ending with:

|

|-

| 6

| 2e3

| stomp spank touch

| RRR

|}

The break

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Bar

! Time

! Steps

! Left/Right

|-

| 7

| 8 1

| stamp toe

| RL

|-

|

| 2 3&

| step hop step

| LLR

|-

| 8

| (4)a5

| hop step

| RL

|-

|

| 6 7

| step step

| RL

|}

Step 2: Push and cross/Crossover

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Bar

! Time

! Steps

! Left/Right

|-

| 9

| 8123

| stamp step stamp step

| RLRL

|-

| 10

| 4 1e

| step heel step (crossing in front of right foot)

| RRL

|-

|

| (2)e3

| heel step

| LR

|-

| 11+12

|

| repeat with sides reversed

|

|-

| 13+14

|

| repeat bars 9+10

|

|-

| 15

| 4 1e

| step heel step (crossing)

| LLR

|-

|

| (2)e3

| heel step

| RL

|-

| 16

|

| repeat bar 15 with sides reversed

|

|}

Step 3: Tacky Annies/Tack Annies

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Bar

! Time

! Steps

! Left/Right

|-

| 17

| e4e1

| stamp stamp spank touch (crossing behind)

| RLRR

|-

|

| 2e3

| stamp spank touch (crossing behind)

| RLL

|-

| 18

| 4e1

| stamp spank touch (crossing behind)

| LRR

|-

|

| 2e3

| stamp spank step (crossing behind)

| RLL

|-

| 19–22

|

| repeat twice, ending with:

|

|-

| 22

| 2e3

| stamp spank step

| RLL

|-

| 23+24

|

| Break as before

|

|}

Step 4: Half breaks/Falling-off-the-log

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Bar

! Time

! Steps

! Left/Right

|-

| 25

| 8 1

| stamp step

| RL

|-

|

| e2e3

| shuffle ball change

| RRRL

|-

| 26

|

| repeat

|

|-

| 27+28

|

| break as before

|

|-

| 29–32

|

| repeat 25–28, ending the break with:

|

|-

| 32

| (4)e1

| hop step

| RL

|-

|

| 2 3

| jump out, jump in

| BB

|}

References

</references>

  • Shim Sham
  • The Shim Sham Steps For Swing Dancers (PDF)