Art Line Dance Swing Shim Sham at Carnation Plaza Disneyland

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The discussion centers around the popularity and origins of line dancing, particularly the Shim Sham, at Disneyland's Carnation Plaza. The Shim Sham is a traditional swing dance that remains popular at swing dance venues, often performed once per night without disrupting regular dancing. The conversation references various line dances and their historical roots, with "Achy Breaky Heart" cited as a catalyst for the line dance craze in the 1990s. Participants express a mix of humor and skepticism about line dancing's cultural significance, particularly in the UK. Overall, the thread highlights the ongoing relevance of these dance styles in contemporary settings.
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Swing - Shim Sham - at Carnation Plaza at Disneyland:

 
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Supposedly Achy Breaky Heart started the craze.

 
rcgldr said:
Swing - Shim Sham - at Carnation Plaza at Disneyland:


Line dancing tried to take hold in the UK, we managed to fend it off though.
 
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gleem said:
Supposedly Achy Breaky Heart started the craze.
Achy Break Heart - 1992. Electric Slide - 1976 (first song was Electric Boogie, later other disco songs, country western songs, pop songs, ...). Van Mccoy Hustle line dance - 1975. LA Hustle (renamed Bus Stop) - 1974. The Madison - 1957. Shim Sham and Big Apple (swing line dances) date back to the 1930's.

Terminal Reaction - 2009, a near 2 minute long pattern. Very few do it any more. The two guys in the left front middle, Ray Boyd and Tony C, choreographed it.

 
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pinball1970 said:
Line dancing tried to take hold in the UK, we managed to fend it off though.
Depends on the venue. Shim Sham is still popular at swing dance venues (or flash mobs just about anywhere).
 
rcgldr said:
Depends on the venue. Shim Sham is still popular at swing dance venues (or flash mobs just about anywhere).
Ok. We have to be vigilant, this practice cannot proliferate.
 
rcgldr said:
Depends on the venue. Shim Sham is still popular at swing dance venues (or flash mobs just about anywhere).

pinball1970 said:
Ok. We have to be vigilant, this practice cannot proliferate.
It's a tradition for most swing dance venues to have one Shim Sham line dance per night. My wife and I live in southern California and go to club type and swing type venues. At the club type venues, electric side and wobble are popular, partially because they are simple to learn. The longest is Big Apple, over 3 minute pattern, partially due to doing some of the patterns for a longer period of time. It's based on a group dance scene from a 1939 movie, Keep Punching. Terminal Reaction is probably the next longest, almost 2 minutes with constant variations in the patterns. Shim Sham is about a 1 minute basic pattern repeated a second time with pauses, and a short final sequence. In the case of Shim Sham, it's only done once a night, so it doesn't interfere much with the regular swing dancing, and some like to watch it even if they don't know it.
 
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I can't help. Line Dance is either funny or a form of military practice, depending on your mood. However, I always found these especially funny:

 
pinball1970 said:
Line dancing tried to take hold in the UK, we managed to fend it off though.
But you know that it actually came from the British Islands?! The settlers in North America, Irish, English etc. were looking for common ground in dances. And you can't deny the similarity to Riverdance.
 
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fresh_42 said:
But you know that it actually came from the British Islands?! The settlers in North America, Irish, English etc. were looking for common ground in dances. And you can't deny the similarity to Riverdance.
Yes they had Irish dancing as an after class activity at my school early 80s.
I did table tennis.
 
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  • #11
gleem said:
Supposedly Achy Breaky Heart started the craze.
When, oh when, will Billy Ray Cyrus be dragged off to The Hague and tried for crimes against humanity?

So, a plane with a USO troupe is shot down in the middle east. The two survivors, a country and a jazz musician are captured by the Taliban and are to be executed. The Taliban leader asks them if they have a last request. The country musician says "I'd like to hear Achy Breaky Heart once more before I die." The jazz player says "Please shoot me first."
 
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  • #12
fresh_42 said:
But you know that it actually came from the British Islands?
So did haggis.
 
  • #13
Vanadium 50 said:
When, oh when, will Billy Ray Cyrus be dragged off to The Hague and tried for crimes against humanity?
I once recorded an entire half of a tape with Achy Breaky Heart.
 
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  • #14
Vanadium 50 said:
So did haggis.
You mean, Haggis made its way somewhere out of Scotland?
 
  • #15
fresh_42 said:
I once recorded an entire half of a tape with Achy Breaky Heart.
Why would you do that? I think there are worst musical concepts, tunes, styles but I honestly cannot think of one right now.
 
  • #16
fresh_42 said:
You mean, Haggis made its way somewhere out of Scotland?
You can buy haggis in the US. But not Irn Bru.
 
  • #17
pinball1970 said:
Why would you do that? I think there are worst musical concepts, tunes, styles but I honestly cannot think of one right now.
I don't remember. But Billy Ray is still better than a Rosary.

I also think that

works well while driving. Music is my only western workaround for Tibetian contemplation.
 
  • #18
Vanadium 50 said:
You can buy haggis in the US. But not Irn Bru.
Pay attention! Deep-fried Mars bars will be next:

1024px-DeepFriedMarsBar.jpg
 
  • #19
fresh_42 said:
Pay attention! Deep-fried Mars bars will be next:

View attachment 302389
Scotland! I told you they are crazy!
 
  • #20
fresh_42 said:
I don't remember. But Billy Ray is still better than a Rosary.

I also think that

works well while driving. Music is my only western workaround for Tibetian contemplation.

I like that track. After hating it initially.
I also like 'Toxic' Britney and 'Beautiful stranger' Madonna.
I have very sound musical reasons for this.
 
  • #21
pinball1970 said:
Line dancing tried to take hold in the UK, we managed to fend it off though.
fresh_42 said:
And you can't deny the similarity to Riverdance.
I was going to suggest, that the UK had Riverdance instead. :wink: :-p

pinball1970 said:
Scotland! I told you they are crazy!
Outside influences.
 
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  • #22
Astronuc said:
I was going to suggest, that the UK had Riverdance instead.
I'm pretty sure that Riverdance is at least nominally Irish (although many of the dancers are not) and I am also pretty sure Ireland has not been part of the UK for about a century.
 
  • #23
Vanadium 50 said:
I'm pretty sure that Riverdance is at least nominally Irish (although many of the dancers are not) and I am also pretty sure Ireland has not been part of the UK for about a century.
Well dancer Michael Flatley (born in Chicago) is Irish American (parents from Sligo and Carlow), and composer Bill Whelan comes from Limerick.
In 1922, after the Irish War of Independence most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State but under the Anglo-Irish Treaty the six northeastern counties, known as Northern Ireland, remained within the United Kingdom, creating the partition of Ireland.
The Irish Free State was created as a self-governing Dominion on 6 December 1922.

I would then suggest that English or Scottish country dancing would be more appropriate, as opposed to Irish Dance.
 
  • #24
Astronuc said:
nd composer Bill Whelan comes from Limerick.
Limerick Pennsylvania? :wink:
 
  • #25
Vanadium 50 said:
Limerick Pennsylvania? :wink:
Nah, the nominally Irish one, Luimneach, in Contae Luimnigh, Éire. :wink:
:-p
 
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