Shag is one of those dances that look old-fashioned but, at the same time, those watching a performance just can’t take their eyes off of the dancers.
It’s not only about the music that has a relaxing effect, but it also makes you want to stand up and dance at the same time. It’s mostly the moves of this dance that draw the eye. The dancers look like they’re not touching the floor, it seems that they’re kind of floating.
The contest that any shag dancer would feel proud to win is the National Shag Dance Championship, which is held every year in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
It’s the longest continuously running shag dance contest in the United States, and its winners- and not only them- have also performed on TV over the years.
Two years ago, there was a pair of young dancers that caught the eyes of the judges and the audience during their performance in the Junior I division.
Chase Collins and Genesis Zarate-Beam, both 11 years old at the time, stole the show when it was their turn to dance.
As you can see in the video below, the two kids look nervous when their names are announced, and they seem as if they are overwhelmed. But not for long.
Only moments later, when the music starts to play, and they realize that the audience likes what they are presenting, they completely go for it and forget about their previous shyness and nervousness.
The two children dance to the sounds of 5-10-15 Hours as sung by Ruth Brown. The song is beautiful and its rhythm is perfect for their choreography.
Genesis is the first one who smiles when she starts feeling comfortable, and, little by little, you can see that Chase, too, feels confident enough to forget about counting the steps, and enjoy his performance instead.
The pair’s moves are elegant and perfectly synced. Especially when Genesis does her twists, the viewers sitting at the front tables can’t help clapping.
Both kids look like they’ve been practicing their choreography systematically for a long time, and, indeed, they manage to give the floating illusion.
It’s great that two young kids have chosen this kind of dance instead of more contemporary types, and they sure have a bright future ahead of them.
The pair won fourth place with their beautiful performance, as Chase’s grandmother shared in a Facebook post.
And it seems that dance talent simply runs in the family for young Chase, since below the grandma’s post everyone’s commenting that he must have gotten his moves from her.
“That’s wonderful!!! Got his moves from his G’ma!” someone wrote, while another of her Facebook friends commented: “Super news… Congratulations to all!!! It must be in the genes…”
We’re sure that these kids will keep dancing and it’s only a matter of time for them to accomplish even bigger things in life.
Watch their performance below.
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