As a father, there are usually only a few times in your life that you get to dance with your daughter.
The opportunity usually comes when they are young at some sort of father-daughter dance, and then again on their wedding day.
However, when you happen to be a world-class dance champion and a father to a daughter, then the opportunity to dance with them comes around much more often.
Sam West is one of those people.
He is a legendary shag dancer who, in 1994, won the Non-Pro National title with his partner Melissa Calabrese and eventually went on to become the Overall National Shag Champion.
However, is accolades don’t stop there:
“Then in 1995 Sam partnered up with his sister, Sarah, and they went on to capture 8 Professional Division titles and 4 Overall titles. Sam also won the Pro and Overall Shag titles in 2001 with Jackie McGee, again in 2006, 2007 and 2008 with Jessica McAlhany, then in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2017 with Leslie Jennings, and in 2014 and 2016 with Krystal Taylor Davis.”
And just in case you weren’t entirely convinced that Sam is the shag dancing king, he is also a 7-time champion in the Carolina Shag Division at the USA Grand National Dance Championships and a 3-time US Open Shag Champion.
So clearly, Sam can dance.
He has settled down a little bit in his later years–he and his wife are now both dance teachers.
However, this doesn’t mean that Sam never dances in front of crowds anymore.
When he heard about an opportunity to dance with his daughter, Sydney, in a dance competition, he decided to jump on it.
Together, they joined the 2020 National SHAG Dance Championships.
In total, the competition is a three-night event that is broken up into six divisions: Junior I, Junior II, Non-Pro, Pro, Senior, and Masters.
Dancers from all over the country, and of all ages, come to groove and show of their skills.
The father-daughter pair decided to dance to Ben E. King’s Stand By Me.
And when the music starts, it’s clear just how good Sam and his daughter are.
Sam has been dancing shag since he was just 9-years-old.
And by the way that he moves his feet, that should come as no surprise.
The two of them glide and slide across the dance floor, seemingly floating above it.
Their smooth moves impress the crowd, continuously eliciting plenty of cheers and applause throughout their entire routine.
The dance goes on for about 3 minutes, and in that time, neither father nor daughter misses a single step.
When you have someone like Sam West as your father and your dance teacher, you really can’t go wrong.
It was clear from beginning to end that these two know how to move their bodies and feet to the music and the judges felt the same way.
They awarded Sam and Sydney first place which probably came as no surprise to anyone who was there to witness their incredible routine.
Check out the video below to watch this shag-dancing legend bring home the gold with his daughter and be sure to share it with a friend!
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