The Best Shim Sham Video for Beginners (and Advanced Fakers!)

The Shim Sham is a line dance that you might have seen at various Swing dances. It should be part of the repertoire of all Swing dancers and incorporates some useful styling so it’s good to learn.

There are a lot of Shim Sham videos out there; here’s one of the best I’ve found for beginners.

But even if you’re not a beginner, I’ve found that many long-time Swing dancers don’t actually know the Shim Sham; they just muddle through it by watching everyone else. Why not get it down once and for all?

The tricky thing about the Shim Sham isn’t the moves! It’s the transitions! (Just like you can tell a good carpenter’s work by the joints, rather than the spans of the wood.) Spend extra time to get your transitions from one move to the next flawless. Be prepared to pause and rewind a lot. Note the timing of everything and how moves start on beat 8.

Let me know what you think in the comments below! – Brian