Here’s how a Myrtle Beach area newcomer learned to shag 30 years later. See how they did

Editor’s note: What Myrtle Beach people, places or things make you nostalgic? Tell us more about this story or other notable stories that our journalists should know about our community. Email us at online@thesunnews.com.

“One and two and three and four, five, six.”

Jackie McGee counts off the numbers in a rhythmic loop, her southern accent drawing out the word “five” each time.

It’s a Monday at Fat Harold’s Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach and McGee is teaching the basic steps to the Carolina Shag to a group of about 20 people.

Shag is a dance that was born on the beaches of South Carolina. It’s a great social dance and an easy one to learn for beginners.

On this night, I’m one of those beginners, watching and mimicking McGee, who has been teaching the dance for 38 years along with her husband, Charlie Womble.

“One and two and three and four, five, six,” McGee repeats.

This isn’t my first time trying the dance. I remember coming to stay with a friend in the Myrtle Beach area during the summer of 1989 and a local took us to a place to shag.

It was hot and steamy as I watched the dancers shuffle and twirl across the floor, always looking like they were in perfect sync. When it was finally my turn, I tried to follow, I really did, but unfortunately, I gave up, retreating to my cold beer instead.

Now that I’m an official South Carolina resident and Carolina Shag is the state’s official dance, I figured I should probably give it another try.

Shag dancing is a lifestyle for many

Shag dancing attracted Charlie Pangburn to North Myrtle Beach.

“It’s the mecca for shag dancers,” Pangburn said of North Myrtle Beach.

Pangburn, acting president of the Ocean Drive Shag Club, learned to shag dance about 13 years ago and moved to the area about six years ago. Growing up on the Jersey Shore, “I had no idea about shag dancing,” Pangburn said.

North Myrtle Beach has become a hub for thousands of shaggers, as they are called, to come and enjoy beach music, dance for hours and reconnect with friends.

The city each year plays host to three festivals of the Society of Stranders, the umbrella for shag clubs across the Carolinas. There is the Mid-Winter Break, Spring Safari and Fall Migration.

“It’s a lifestyle more than anything else,” Pangburn said. “It fills so many voids for so many people.”

The club, which is one of the oldest and largest, with 760 members, in the country, tries to promote shag and continue its history, according to Pangburn.

History of shag dancing

The dance was most popular in the North and South Carolina coasts in the 1940s and ‘50s. Teenagers would traditionally dance to beach music, but now DJ’s play other music genres.

Known as the “swing dance of the South,” the dance has similarities to the Lindy Hop, Jitterbug and East Coast Swing.

The dance was featured in the 1989 film, “Shag,” about four teenage girlfriends who have an adventure in Myrtle Beach in 1963. The movie became a favorite of fans of the dance.

What makes it so popular is that anyone can do it, Pangburn said. Once a person has learned the basic dance moves, they can dance those steps for the rest of their life, he said, or build on it by adding additional moves.

Learning to shag

McGee learned to shag when she was older, which is typical for most who do the dance.

She and Womble offer $10 lessons for all levels each Monday at Fat Harold’s. There also are free lessons on Tuesdays by different instructors.

Shag is a partner dance. Women line up on one side and the men on the other. Dancers use the counts to move forward and backward toward one another, switching their weight from left to right. Dancers keep their top half controlled with only the legs and feet doing most of the moving. The key to the dance is for it to look like the partners are mirroring each other’s movements.

It’s been five years since Tim and Loraine Ashley have shag danced. The North Myrtle Beach couple decided to begin dancing again and will start with the basic steps until they get back in the rhythm.

“It is a fun dance,” Loraine Ashley said.

It is a fun dance. I was able to get the basic steps, moving with the music and my partner. However, once we got to the turns, that’s when I became lost.

“Let him lead you,” McGee told me.

So I once again offered my partner my hand and he twirled me under his arm. Not bad that time. But I obviously need more practice.

At least it was better than that first time nearly 34 years ago. And now that I’m a local, I can spend much more time practicing.

“One and two and three and four, five, six.”