Big Apple - Art Event

Dancer count for the shag:
When dancing the shag, the dancer counts in their head "1 & 2" "3 & 4" "5" "6".  It can also be counted as "quick" "quick" "slow" "quick" "quick" "slow" "slow" "slow" where each syllable represents a step.

The Big Apple:
The Big Apple is anything but big, it looks like an old little house on the outside and on the inside it is one big room with a balcony overlooking the big room. It was not always the Big Apple, it used to be known as the House of Peace Synagogue as a house of worship.  In 1915 the House of Peace synagogue was destroyed by a fire and then 21 years later the congregation decided to sell the building in 1936 to move to a bigger building. In 1937 the building became the Big Apple Night Club. The club was in business for a year and then was closed and sold in 1938.  We learned that the Big Apple building was not originally built on the spot it is currently located on.  In 1979 the building became abandoned and in 1982 the building was moved from 1138 Park street to its location now on the corner of Hampton and Park streets. 
The steps walking up into the house were very narrow and hard to walk up, you tend to see narrow steps in old houses because that was the architectural design back then.  The windows of the building are two-stories tall and reflect natural light into the building. As soon as you walk in you notice a large domed ceiling above your head that is stained glass and has the star of David in the center from the synagogue days.  There is also a neon moon and stars that remind you of when the building was a night club.  The floor is all hardwood miking it perfect for dancing on. 

The Shag:
The shag was originated in the late 1930s in Myrtle Beach South Carolina where the dance was created involving roots from the Jitterbug and was danced to fast paced swing music.  Billy Jeffers is accredited with being the early originator of the dance, and he is from Florence South Carolina.  About 10 years later the term "shag" came about and was danced to the tempo of rhythm and blues music.  The shag is danced with smoothness and only uses the lower half of your body, requiring tight footwork and turns while making it look smooth at the same time.  What is great about the shag, is that it can be danced to fast "beach music" or it can be danced to slow rhythm and blues music. Now-a-days the shag is typically danced to the blues music.  I am from Virginia and I have never really heard of the shag until I came down to South Carolina.  I now shag at all my sorority functions as well as major events.

Billy Jeffers