Course timings
Mondays starting 16th February and finishing on 9th March
7pm - 8pm Main class (booked tickets only)
8pm - 8.30pm FREE Social Dance
note: On the 2nd March the social will start at 8:30pm as we will run a free taster class 8pm - 8:30pm. Everyone welcome.
Course Cost
£40 per person
Course Duration
4 weeks
What is St. Louis Shag?
St. Louis Shag is an up-tempo dialect of swing-Charleston developed in St. Louis, Missouri during the mid-1930s. This form of Shag is distinguished from Collegiate Shag and Carolina Shag by its rhythmically diverse eight-count basic and side-by-side starting position. Historically, St. Louis Shag was not a stand-alone dance, but an element of the wider Lindy Hop or jitterbug styles featuring swingouts and acrobatics, often reserved for fast tempos, competitions, and jam circles.
Read more about the broad history of St.Louise Shag in this article created by Christian Frommelt
Why take this course?
Whether you’re familiar with Lindy Hop or newer to swing dances, this workshop will help you:
Discover the characteristic footwork
Learn the classic St. Louis Shag basics: triple-step and kick patterns, transitions, and rhythmic variations so you can keep up with faster music and feel confident on the social floor.
Improve rhythm and musicality
St. Louis Shag is danced to lively, fast tempos. Practising it sharpens your sense of timing, syncopation, and response to swing rhythms, skills that also support your Lindy Hop and other dances.
Expand your swing repertoire
Adding St. Louis Shag to your dance vocabulary gives you another fun, dynamic way to move with a partner and explore the history of swing’s rich culture.
Build confidence and connection
The dance encourages responsive leading and following, tight rhythms and clear communication with your partner.
What will I learn?
• Know the essential St. Louis Shag fundamentals
• Understand how to dance it to up-tempo music
• Feel more confident with fast footwork and rhythmic variation
• Be able to mix St. Louis Shag steps into your social dancing
Your teachers
Norman - I did my first triple step in 2017 and was hooked ever since. A few years of the Lindy Hop & Charlston soon led to the Collegiate Shag and St Louis Shag further exploring the world of swing dance styles. Immersing myself into festivals in the UK and across Europe I love sharing the fun, energy and playfulness of these dances.
It’s a joy sharing a journey of communication & story telling during a dance with a partner and look to share this with students when teaching. I love mixing styles together; Lindy, Charleson & Shag as well as switching roles, hijacks while following with the flow of the music and partner connection during the dance… excited to see where the journey takes us!
Tanya – Tanya has been teaching Lindy Hop for eight years and has trained across Europe with internationally renowned dancers. She has competed internationally, taught workshops around the UK and has a strong foundation in Lindy Hop, Collegiate Shag, St Louise Shag, Charleston, 1920s and 1930s solo jazz, movement, rhythm and musicality. Her teaching style is clear, progressive, technique-focused and encouraging, with an emphasis on connection, creativity and building confident social dancers.
Which role should I choose?
We encourage exploration of all dance roles. The "Lead" is like a driver, steering the general direction of the dance and setting up a lot of the patterns. The "Follower" responds to the direction the lead gives, but they also have their own voice in the dance. We believe partner dancing is a conversation between both roles and the music. If you are happy to dance either role, we encourage you to book a "Flexi" ticket. Booking a flexi ticket helps us to keep classes balanced. We will always try to give you your preferred role on the night, depending on who attends.
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