Collegiate Shag

Collegiate Shag is all about energy, fun and a wide grin — the kind of dance that raises your heart rate in the most pleasant way. It looks impressive yet is wonderfully welcoming to beginners, and it really shines at those wild tempos that are simply too fast for other swing dances. Collegiate Shag became popular in the 1930s, when it turned into a craze among American students — hence the name. It is one of the main partnered swing dances, originating in the USA and flourishing from 1930 to 1950. What set it apart from other dances bearing the Shag name (St. Louis Shag, Carolina Shag, Heel Shag) was, above all, the hands held high in closed position, energetic kicks and nimble little-step variations, danced to fast-tempo music. Different regions of the USA had their own local Shag dances; “Collegiate” described both the style of the dance and the audience that danced it, which is why the whole history of this dance is very hazy.

Although it isn’t possible to trace exactly where it came from or how it developed, several figures stand out: Arthur Murray, the American dance teacher who in the mid-1930s tried to trace Shag’s roots and standardise it — the best-known surviving version is his (e.g. the 1937 “How to Shag” clip); Conrad “Connie” Weidell, thanks to whom the dance now called Collegiate Shag reached the American West Coast, a dancer of unique style you can see in the 1938 Venice Beach Swing clip; Tom Gallagher, one of the real shaggers from Murray’s 1937 “How To Shag” clip; and Ray Hirsch with Patti Lacey, who perhaps didn’t consider themselves shaggers but filmed several Hollywood movies doing more than a few Shag steps (e.g. the 1939 “Blondie Meets The Boss”). For a deeper dive into the history, we recommend reading jazz historian, musician and dancer Peter Loggins’s article on the history of Shag and watching Ryan Martin’s film The Rebirth of Shag.