My friend and fellow lindy hopper Ryan M. was recently traveling in Asheville, NC when he randomly encountered this guy waiting tables who had these tattoos pictured here. According to Ryan, he had no idea that those phrases had any significance to others. He and his friends just used "shim sham" and "frim fram" to…
Tag: shim sham
Interactive “Shim Sham” line dance instructional video
Here's a really well-produced instructional video on how to do the "Shim Sham Shimmy," a popular line dance that is performed at swing dances all around the world. The video project was conceived and created by lindy hoppers Patrick and Natasha of Montreal. Here's why they made this video: We all know how frustrating it…
The Global Shim Sham compilation video: a labor of lindy love involving 5,000+ dancers from around the world
This video is the result of several months of effort involving an estimated 5,000 dancers in over 22 countries: the Global Shim Sham. This was produced by a dedicated team of volunteers for the Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival, and shown to an appreciative audience of about 2,000 people on Saturday, May 23. Read on…
Hula + Swing = Hula Shim Sham (video)!
Here’s a late but very sweet entry in the “Global Shim Sham” project for Frankie Manning’s 95th Birthday Festival. Check out this beautiful and amazingly choreographed hula dance version of the “Shim Sham”! Here’s how the dancers described why they put these two seemingly very different dance forms together: Many traditional hula celebrate and pay…
Lessons from a Successful Viral Media Campaign: 128 “Global Shim Sham” videos (and counting) for Frankie Manning!
View Larger Map When the organizers of the Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival cooked up the idea of having lindy hop scenes from all over submit videos of themselves doing the Shim Sham line dance, we had no real expectations for how many would come in, or from where. I remember telling co-organizer Shorty Dave…
The Shim Sham… now in 3D! (video)
Ok, I am sure that my non-dancer friends are sick to death of all of these bloody Shim Sham videos. This is the last one (perhaps) that I'm posting, because it's so stinkin' cool! That's right, it's the Shim Sham, rendered in 3D, by those amazing folks at the Jam Cellar in DC. Here's how…
Mike Jagger (plus 2 forks and 2 dinner rolls) dances the Shim Sham
Here's lindy hopper Mike Jagger dancing the Shim Sham ala Charlie Chaplin using two forks and two dinner rolls. Damned if those utensils and baked goods don't dance better than I do. This is just so strange and brilliant. Directed by John Damn.
New Yorkers shim shamming in Grand Central (video)
Here's my buddy Will's video of about 50 New Yorkers dancing the Shim Sham in Grand Central Station last Saturday. Thanks everyone who participated, and especially Shorty Dave, Akemi, Lynn, Swifty and Will for helping organize and archive all of this craziness. Mad props to you all. Part of the Frankie Week festivities, in preparation…
Shim Shamming in Times Square and Grand Central for “Frankie Week”!
Today about 50-60 lindy hoppers assembled in Manhattan to dance the "Shim Sham" line dance as part of the "Frankie Week" festivities taking place all over the globe. It was one of those remarkable days that make me grateful to live in New York and be a part of the lindy hop scene.
“Swim Sham” on the Canary Islands (video)
I enjoyed very much this "Swim Sham" performed by dancers at the La Santa Swing dance camp in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Particularly all the splashing in the second section and the pool aerials. It just looked like so much fun! I continue to be blown away by everyone's submissions for "Frankie Week." Many…