The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine. It is credited to Leonard Reed, who originally called it Goofus, or to Willie Bryant. For swing dancers, today it is kind of line dance that recalls the roots of swing.
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In the late 1920s and the 1930s, at the end of many performances, all of the musicians, singers, and dancers would get together on stage and do one last routine: the Shim Sham Shimmy. Tap dancers would perform technical variations, while singers and musicians would shuffle along as they were able.
As a result of this conglomerate background, there is not one universal "shim sham" choreography - there are several variations. When a group of people do the Shim Sham (especially a group of people from different cities), their steps will be largely similar with some variation and even some improvisation. One particular routine is quite common, and can be learned by intermediate dancers in a social setting. There are at least alternative choreographies—one developed by Frankie Manning, another by Al Minns and Leon James (also called the "Savoy Shim Sham"), and a third by Dean Collins.
The Shim Sham routine created by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant in 1927 uses four popular steps of the period: the Shim Sham, the Pushbeat and Crossover, the Tackie Annie or Tack Annie, and the Half Break. Originally called “Goofus” and done as a comedic farm dance to the song “Turkey in the Straw,” the dance was performed by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant around the South while they were touring with the Whitman Sisters Troupe. The dance was then taken to the Shim Sham Club in New York, where the farm theme was dropped and chorus girls were added to the dance. The chorus girls further varied the dance by shaking their shoulders while doing the first step, and soon the dance became known as the Shim Sham Shimmy.
THE LEONARD REED SHIM SHAMS:
The Shim Sham is 10 phrases of choreography (each phrase lasting four 8-counts), so it does not usually take up an entire song. After the Shim Sham was over, the dancers then would exit either stage left or right, depending on what was agreed upon for that show.
Today in the Lindy Hop scene, once the Shim Sham choreography is over, dancers typically grab a partner and break into lindy hop for the remainder of the song. During this portion of the song, the band or a DJ may call out "Freeze!" or "Slow!" instructing the dancers to either stop where they are or dance slowly, then call out "Dance!" to tell everyone to resumes normal dancing. The Frankie Manning version adds a Boogie Back/Boogie Forward phrase and Boogie Back/Shorty George phrase to the end of the basic choreography, then repeats the basic choreography before the Lindy break—but in repeating adds a pause or break at the end of each 8-beat phrase/dance move. Only after the repeats are ended do the dancers break into free Lindy Hop with swing-outs.
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.
These are the steps of the original 32-bar Shim Sham:
| Bar | Time | Steps | Left/Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8e1 | stomp brush step | RRR |
| 2e3 | stomp brush step | LLL | |
| 2 | 4e1e | stomp brush ball change | RRRL |
| 2e3 | stomp brush step | RRR | |
| 3+4 | repeat with sides reversed | ||
| 5+6 | repeat bar 1-2, ending with: | ||
| 6 | 2e3 | stomp brush touch | RRR |
| Bar | Time | Steps | Left/Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 8 1 | stamp toe | RL |
| 2 3e | step hop step | LLR | |
| 8 | (4)e1 | hop step | RL |
| 2 3 | step step | RL |
| 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 |
| Bar | Time | Steps | Left/Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | e4e1 | stamp stamp brush touch (crossing behind) | RLRR |
| 2e3 | stamp brush touch (crossing behind) | RLL | |
| 18 | 4e1 | stamp brush touch (crossing behind) | LRR |
| 2e3 | stamp brush touch (crossing behind) | RLL | |
| 19-22 | repeat twice, ending with: | ||
| 22 | 2e3 | stamp brush step | RLL |
| 23+24 | Break as before |
| 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 |