Shim Sham Time!

...ever been at a swing dance party happily swinging away on the social dance floor until the music stops, people spread and gather around in a circle getting all excited and shouting:

"Now let's do some Shim Shamming!!!!"

...do you find that this very moment is accompanied by yet another internal sense of panic fuelled by the realisation that your mastership of all those new steps that you learned in class yesterday is really not all that???...

...at this moment, do you find yourself retreating into your shell of normal "non-dancing person" frightenedness suddenly deciding that you are really thirsty and slipping off the dance floor???....

...well fight the urge to disappear, take on the challenge....

...tackle the Shim Sham...

...don't tell anyone you've practiced religiously alone in the privacy of your own home...

...turn up to the next party...

and

...Shim with no shame...

The Al & Leon Shim Sham

a.k.a. The Savoy Shim Sham

  

Frankie Manning's Shim Sham Shimmy

Dean Collins and Bart Bartolo

Lindy Hoppers in Harlem New York in the 1920s were a cheeky bunch...they couldn't help but innovate...they brought the originally known as Goofus 10 8-count phrase-based tap routine to the swing dance floor and called it the Shim Sham.

TRY IT!!!...SHIM SHAM...DANCE AND BE HAPPY

Black Bottom Dance - History and Evolution

JUST WATCH!!

WATCH...DANCE AND BE HAPPY...

Social Swing Dancing in Zürich

Tuesday Night Swing @ Club el Social im Viadukt 10 

Viaduktstrasse 67, 8005 Zürich, Schweiz

Lindy Hop, a dance more well known as Swing, a social dance that originated from the street and constituted the basis of a series of other dances including the Black Bottom, the Charleston and Shim Sham.

Lindy hoppers around the globe, novices and professionals alike are a most welcoming, smiling and delightful crowd that contribute through dance to bringing back a joy for life, while reviving a counter-cultural dance bourne from unprecedented recession and economic depression in 30ies Harlem, New York in parties at iconic venues such as the Savoy Ballroom, no longer in existence since 1958.

Today's swing dance enthusiasts are spreading their love of Jazz, Rythm & Blues and Swing music through dancing to the likes of Billie Holliday, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Red Garland to mention but a few...as well as big swing bands including the Count Basie Orchestra and many more...

"Social" swing dancing is the key to learning, sharing and creating the moves that fill the dancefloors with heat, energy, dynamism and happiness around the globe.

In Zürich, the Lindy Hop "scene" is surprisingly big and friendly, fully catering for the addiction of Lindy Hoppers who cannot wait to hit the dance floor after their hum-drum work day is over.

Tuesday Night Swing @ Club el Social im Viadukt 10 is a most pleasant mid-week occurence attended by regulars as well as beginners to enjoy a relaxing evening...it is also a great work-out in a fully social environment...

 

Max and Sophie admiring the talent



El Social Dance Floor in full swing


 ...COME ALONG, JOIN THE FUN...DANCE AND BE HAPPY

 

Keep Punching - The Big Apple routine



Man!!!! NYC will be so exciting...



...learning to be as good as this...

...will definitely be a challenge...

 

 

LOVE LIFE...DANCE AND BE HAPPY

Swing City Legacy - a worldwide phenomenon

Mr Swing aka Lorenz Ilg makes history with Swing City Zurich 2001

The man behind this Swing extravaganza is no other than delightful Mr Swing - Lorenz Igl, not only acknowledged by no other than George Gee himself [skip to 18'12" until 18'50" of the youtube link George Gee Swings in Zurich 2001] and also to his name Swing productions in Switzerland and the world renouned Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden.


Swing City concept was devised as a "Swinging International Festival" to bring forth the effervescence of musical Swing culture through several days of "dancing, improvisation and lust for life."


The event that gathered over 10,000 people in the small (albeit wealthy) city of Zurich in Switzerland, played a significant role at the turn of the 20th century, bringing back the joy of life and reviving a counter-culture bourne from unprecedented recession and economic depression in 30ies Harlem, New York in now iconic venues such as the Savoy Ballroom, no longer in existence since 1958.



Savoy Ballroom prior to its closing in 1958



Swing is a social dance that originated from the street and constituted the basis of a series of other dances including the Black Bottom, the Charleston, Shim Sham, and especially the Lindy Hop. Today thanks to the passion of people for life,music, movement and happiness, these dances are in full swing revival, in part through events such as Swing City - a platform for professionals and curious novices alike to explore the world of Swing dance and music through a carefully selected array of workshops, crashcourses, performances and concerts. 

As an illustration of the dedication to spreading the lust for life through swing dance and music, get a glimpse [approx. 18m20s into the video] of Lorenz giving a Lindy Hop crashcourse to thousands of people in the main hall of Zurich's central train station George Gee Swings in Zurich 2001.

This experience was directly recounted to me as per the footage a few days previously by the man himself during the IsThereHop? International Lindy Hop Festival that Lorenz now runs with overflowing enthusiasm and professionalism with guest teachers including Hasse and Marie, as well as  Lennart Westerlund and one of the smoothest dancers I hear there is in the Swing scene: Calle Johansson. A real treat....


The Swing City concept was then embraced on a global scale very rapidly all the way downunder...

 

Swing City in Melbourne, Australia 2003

SPREAD THE LOVE...DANCE AND BE HAPPY....