January 2023: Learn the Shim Sham

The Shim Sham is a simple solo jazz routine that lindy hoppers all over the world enjoy dancing together. It began as a classic tap routine, choreographed originally by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant, that became widely known among entertainers in the 1930s and was often used as an all-hands finale for shows around Harlem. When Frankie Manning, one of the original lindy hoppers, began teaching around the world in the 1980s, he often taught his modified Shim Sham routine, thus creating a modern lindy hop community tradition. Dance the tradition and learn this routine with us!