The annual Mid-Winter Shag Classic, held the third weekend in January, begins the new year's round of shag dance festivals. The Society of Stranders (SOS), the official shag dance organization, begins the season with four days of partying in North Myrtle Beach. Shaggers are invited to join their friends at dozens of local strand clubs featuring DJ's and beach music from the 1950s to the present. Dance instruction, workshops, free food, contests and exhibitions are offered at participating clubs along Ocean Boulevard and around Myrtle Beach.
Popular lounges for shagging are Fat Harold's, Boulevard Grill, and OD Arcade, Ducks & Ducks II, and Ocean Drive Beach & Golf Resorts. Most clubs have multiple dance floors and are known as some of the best eating places around for everything from burgers to seafood. Admission during the festival is free for SOS members. Trams provide free transportation between clubs, a chance for dancers to rest their feet between locations.
Area hotels offer special rates for individuals and groups of visiting shag dancers. Condos and vacation rentals on the beach are also an option. Shag is a world unto itself. The 'Carolina Shag' originated in the 1930s, a mix of quick steps and shuffles that grew from the Charleston. It was a mainstay of Big Band swing dancing in the 1940s. Since the '50s and '60s shag, or strand dancing, involves smooth and laid-back beach music with a gentle, steady beat -- the sounds of Motown, the Drifters, Platters and Temptations.
Shag dancers say they can connect with the music and their partners in a relaxed yet spirited way unparalleled in any other form of partner dancing. For further information contact the Society of Stranders at 102 South Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, or visit their website.
