Saying you’ve just come from a shag competition may raise a few eyebrows, but I assure you, they may be talking about something not quite so nefarious.
In fact, they’re probably talking about the style of swing dance known as “Shag”.
Originating from the beaches of South Carolina, it’s a dazzling style of swing dance perfect for jiving to rock n’ roll or beach music.
It’s an incredibly popular style of dance, and every year competitors young and old enter the arena to strut their stuff for glory.
Everyone thought the dance would just fade away like most trends but it endured and came back stronger than ever, proving itself that it is very much a part of culture.
It is such a smooth dance. and you can’t help but vibe with it when watching amazing dancers like these two.
Enter, stage left: Gracie Pandure, and Tucker Brown, in the 2019 National Shag Dance Championships Junior Division.
And appropriately, both Gracie and Tucker are natives of the Carolina’s, from South and North Carolina respectively.
Given that Shag is sometimes still referred to as “Carolina Shag” due to that being its place of origin, these kids have a lot to represent!
It all kicks off with some fairly fancy footwork!
These kids are absolute stars, and they’ve got moves to prove.
This is the kind of swing dance skill that lands you in first place!
With expert balance and coordination, Grace nails a tremendous spin as the lights flash.
And while Gracie brings it with her masterful spins, Tucker has the tip-top toe tricks to take it!
Part of what makes shag dance so fun to watch is just how high-energy it can be and how they never stop moving their feet.
That, paired with the oh-so-fun old school rock music, makes shag competitions highly entertaining.
And it’s not only Gracie who gets to do the spins!
True to shag style, it’s not just the lady of the dance who gets to do a little tricky twisting.
In fact, it’s not even only one of them who gets to twist at a time. Why not both twist simultaneously?
Not to mention tucker’s amazing dips.
Some of the cooler shag dance moves include a sort of dipping crouch, folding one ankle over the other, before popping back up.
It’s like breakdancing, but to old -school rock n’ roll music.
What’s not to like about that?
And it doesn’t stop at just one for a talented fella like Tucker.
Continuing the impressive legwork, our buddy Tucker wows the judges with even more tricky moves.
Don’t be fooled. That is one difficult step. Takes a real pro to execute and Tucker, at his age, dances with the best of them.
And their moves aren’t just impressive, they’re charming too!
I guess it takes more than just skills to win. It also helps to throw a little narrative in there as well!
In one sassy move, Gracie pushes Tucker backward with a hand to his chest.
Think Sandy to Danny at the end of Grease.
And sure enough, it is not just Tucker who gets to do all the fun leg-dips!
As with the spins, these are moves that these two young and talented dancers expertly do in-sync.
And at the very end, when the audience are in rapturous applause, they embrace each other happily.
It seems like as two talented competitors reach the end of their routine, they know just how well they’ve done.
All their hard work spent in practice paid off.
These two could have spent that time hanging out with friends but instead, chose to dazzle everyone with their incredible talent.
Watch the full video below to enjoy this dazzling duo’s daring routine!
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