Collegiate Shag

col·le·giate shag
noun | a playful, high-energy exchange of kicks and hops

Collegiate Shag

Collegiate Shag (often shortened to just “shag”) was created in the African American communities of the Carolinas in the 1920s and quickly spread across the country. In the Swing Era, Shag was actually the most widespread swing dance in the United States! White college students had a particular love for the dance (hence the term “Collegiate Shag”) and it became so popular that it had its own category in the famed Harvest Moon Ball dance contests in New York City in the 1930s and 1940s.

Collegiate Shag is known for its consistent pulse, thrilling musicality, and exciting moves. Shag is traditionally dance to a higher tempo range (ranging from 180 beats per minute to a blazing 250!) Collegiate Shag in its original style and form was incredibly comfortable and smoothly executed, though in recent decades high-energy, performance style shag has sometimes become the norm. Cloudland’s curriculum emphasizes the original, comfortable, and social-dance style of Collegiate Shag.

Classes We Offer

  • Learn the basic rhythms and movements of Collegiate Shag, as well as some quintessential shag movements and rhythmic variations to add variety to your social dancing.

    No prerequisites/No dance experience required.

    Classes are a 5-week series, and take a week off between sessions.

    *Wondering what role to dance? Partner dancing has a Lead and Follow.

    - The Lead/Leader is the person suggesting the moves and rhythms by initiating their follower's momentum.

    - The Follow/Follower is the person who completes the moves and shapes within the rhythm suggested by the leader, often adding styling and rhythmic variations to beautify the overall movement.

  • *Level 2 classes can be taken in any order*

    Explore more Collegiate Shag moves and rhythms, including classic moves from the original dancers, musicality ideas, and our favorite Shag moves and stylings!

    Prerequisites: Completion of Collegiate Shag 1. Comfortable moving through closed position and single kick basics, side-by-side single kicks, turns from closed to open, and shag breaks on the social floor and a variety of tempos.

    Classes are a 5-week series, and take a week off between sessions.

Let’s Dance

Questions? Comments? Ideas? We’d love to hear from you!