If you ever needed a reminder of how huge these two dancers are in the field, just give a listen to the MC introduce them before the dancing even begins. He lists the merits, achievements, and awards these two amazing dancers have garnered over the years.
So we now know we are in the presence of greatness even before the music starts, and then when the record gets spinning, these two get spinning, too.
Jeremy Webb and Kalin Ellis put on a masterclass of how the Carolina Shag is done and done good.
Jeremy Webb is a professional dancer and instructor who specializes in his home state’s official dance, the Carolina Shag. He has won numerous shag titles over the years, as the MC has so diligently told us, and he’s got a ton of miles on his dancing shoes to prove it.
On his LinkedIn account, Jeremy expresses why Shag is his passion.
“Shag has always been a brightness in my life and I am bringing the Carolina Shag experience to everyone so they may see and feel the joy the shag dance and shag music brings me everyday.”
She can shag with the best of them, because she is one of the best.
Partnering in these award-winning routines, is dancer Kalin Ellis. Kalin and Jeremy won First Place at the US Non-Professional held yearly in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She has competed in numerous competitions all while attending nursing school, where she recently graduated.
The Carolina Shag
In his book “Save The Last Dance For Me,” Shag historian Phil Sawyer describes the Carolina Shag as,
“A cold beer on a warm night with a hot date and no plans for tomorrow.”
According to Southern Living, the popular dance was born on the beaches of South Carolina in the 1940s.
“It should generally feel and look as if the partners are mirroring each other’s movements, completely in sync. The man leads with his left foot, the woman follows suit with her right foot, and so on. In the basic form, each partner is doing the same step, but with the opposite foot. Once you get more experienced, you’re able to have more fun with it and try faster, more complicated steps.”
As both Jeremy and Kalin show, they have a ton of experience as they fly through a series of highly involved steps.
The fancy footwork put on display here is extraordinary.
These two have happy feet which led a Youtuber to comment,
“Wow! There’s a show just watching their feet alone.”
The Capital City Shag Club puts on the Shag Extravaganza every year in Columbia, South Carolina.
Jeremy and Kalin cut across the dance floor at the yearly Shag Extravaganza, where they won the National Champion title. The good folks in the club are shag boosters that love the rich history that the dance has in their state. They put on the event as a way to show off the dance to new enthusiasts around the globe. The Shag Extravaganza brings dancers together from across the world for a weekend of dancing, lessons, and everything shag.
Little Richard’s music sets these two aflame.
The chosen song is “True Fine Mama,” off of Little Richard’s debut album, “Here’s Little Richard.” Little Richard was an instrumental personality in pop music and culture for decades. He gained the nicknames “The Innovator,” “The Originator,” and “The Architect of Rock and Roll.”
Little Richard was such a huge influence on Bob Dylan that in his high school yearbook he wrote his goal in life was to, “Join Little Richard.”
Youtubers have just gone wild over this video…
“This just amazes me. Wonderful.”
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“This guy is rubber legged!!!! Great dancing!!!! Loved it!!!!!”
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“Holy Moly…they are great!”
Their youthful exuberance might just get you off your feet and into some dance classes of your own.
Sit back and watch this gem. You’ll be witnessing two of the finest shag dancers to hit the circuit in a long time.
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