Save the Last Dance for Me
Oct 15, 2012

Save the Last Dance for Me
A Love Story of the Shag and the Society of Stranders
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (August 30, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1611170877
ISBN-13: 978-1611170870

The shag, the official state dance of North and South Carolina, originated in the 1930s. The dance quickly spread throughout the South, where it became a legend in many beach regions. Save the Last Dance for Me is the story of the shag and the development of the Society of Stranders, an organization devoted to the dance and its culture.

In Save the Last Dance for Me, Phil Sawyer and Tom Poland retell the story of the legendary dance and its iconic presence at Ocean Drive, Myrtle Beach, and other South Carolina beaches. While contributing memories of shagging on Ocean Drive, Sawyer and Poland also discuss the actual dance steps that make up the shag. With the retelling of the shag story comes the unique story of the Society of Stranders. Formed in 1980 after a Red Sea Balsam bottle containing an SOS note washed ashore as a practical joke, what resulted was increased national publicity and five thousand "stranders" flocking to Ocean Drive Beach to show their support for the shag culture. The Society of Stranders, or SOS, and the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs together now consist of more than fifteen thousand members. The shag's past, present, and future are described here with archival and contemporary photographs.


Idgie Says:
Read about the first Flash Mob!  (five thousand "stranders" flocking to Ocean Drive Beach to show their support for the shag culture.)

This is the story of the Shag, a super popular dance that started in the 30s and became the official dance of the Carolina's.  It tells how it started, how it became so popular and actually helped integrate races.

The story also involves the formation of the Stranders, which now has 15,000 members.  (Shag Groupies)


Quite a few photographs, many of them in full color, are in this enjoyable slice of history.

This book is a fun look back in time to something that was fun.  Face it, most books about the 30s deal only with the Great Depression.  It's nice to see another side of life.

Suddenly......... I feel like dancing.



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Reviewed by Idgie. If you would like to have the Dew review a book, please contact me at dewonthekudzu@gmail.com

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