Shim Sham

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The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem.[1] For swing dancers, today it is a kind of line dance that recalls the roots of swing.


In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant were with the Whitman Sisters troupe on the T.O.B.A. circuit, they danced what they called "Goofus" to the tune Turkey in the Straw.[1][2][3] The routine consisted of standard steps: eight bars each of the double shuffle, crossover, Tack Annie, and falling-off-the-log.[1][3][4]

In early 1930s, the Shim Sham was performed in Harlem at places like Connie's Inn,[3][4] Dickie Wells's Shim Sham Club,[1][3] the 101 Ranch,[5] the LaFayette Theatre,[1] and the Harlem Opera House.[1]

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.[3] For example, flash dance act Three Little Words would close their show at Connie's Inn with the Shim Sham, and invite everyone to join in, "and the whole club would join us, including the waiters. For awhile people were doing the Shim Sham up and down Seventh Avenue all night long," according to Joe Jones.[4]

According to tap dancer Howard “Stretch” Johnson the word "Shim" was a contraction of the term "she-him", a reference to the fact that the female chorus line dancers at the 101 Ranch were played by men.[5]

In the modern Lindy Hop community, the Shim Sham is commonly performed as a line dance during dance events.[6] Despite the existence of many variations, the dance has spread around the world, as was featured in the 'Global Shim Sham for Frankie' – a tribute performance for dance legend Frankie Manning's 95th birthday.[7] As such, it has emerged as an emblem of the international nature of the swing dancing community.[8]


There are several variations of "shim sham" choreography. There is the choreography used by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant, as well as a number of variations by Leonard Reed and others. Other "shim sham" choreographies include ones by Frankie Manning, Al Minns and Leon James (also called the "Savoy Shim Sham"), and Dean Collins.


  • The original Shim Sham from 1927 is a 32 bar chorus composed of 4 steps and a break
  • The Freeze Chorus, circa 1930’s. This dance is the same as the Shim Sham but without the breaks
  • The Joe Louis Shuffle Shim Sham, 1948. This is a tap-swing dance 32 bar chorus number that Leonard Reed performed with the World Heavyweight Boxing champ Joe Louis
  • The Shim Sham II, 1994. This dance is a 32 bar chorus dance based on the original Shim Sham
  • The Revenge of the Shim Sham, 2002. This 32 bar chorus dance is Leonard Reed’s final Shim Sham, which builds elegantly upon his original four

The dance[edit]

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 repeats the basic choreography (replacing each of the break steps with an 8-beat hold), then adds two Boogie Back/Boogie Forward phrases and two Boogie Back/Shorty George phrases to the end of the second repetition of the basic choreography.[9] Only after the final Shorty George is completed do the dancers break into freestyle Lindy Hop.

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.

The steps[edit]

These are the steps of the original 32-bar Shim Sham:

Step 1: The shim sham/double shuffle[edit]

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

The break[edit]

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

Step 2: Push and cross/Crossover[edit]

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

Step 3: Tacky Annies/Tack Annies[edit]

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 step (crossing behind) RLL
19-22 repeat twice, ending with:
22 2e3 stamp brush step RLL
23+24 Break as before

Step 4: Half breaks/Falling-off-the-log[edit]

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


  1. ^ a b c d e f Valis Hill, Constance (2010). Tap Dancing America: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-539082-7. 
  2. ^ Frank, Rusty (1994). Tap! the greatest tap dance stars and their stories. Da Capo Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-306-80635-5. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Feldman, Anita (1996). Inside Tap. Princeton Book Company. pp. 105–106. ISBN 0-87127-199-0. 
  4. ^ a b c Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1994). Jazz Dance: the story of American vernacular dance. Da Capo Press. pp. 195–196. ISBN 0-306-80553-7. 
  5. ^ a b Boyd, Herb (2000). Autobiography of a People: three Ccnturies of African American history told by those who lived it. Doubleday, a division of Random House. p. 260. ISBN 0-385-49278-2. 
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