Bringing Shag to WV

BASC – A Brief History (as best I can remember)

I was never a dancer. In high school at dances, I would stand around and try to look cool. I envied the guys that could dance because they were cool. Later in life, I could manage to shuffle around the dance floor to a slow song.

Fast forward to the late 1980s, my wife, at the time, and I owned a condo in Surfside Beach, SC. We would go to a nightclub in Myrtle Beach called Studebakers. The music was mostly 50s rock and roll, which I grew up on. We would sit, listen, and watch other people doing the jitterbug. One night the DJ said there was a couple who requested some “beach music” so they could “shag” dance. I had heard both terms before. Well, about 30 seconds into that first song, I was hooked. I made up my mind that I was going to learn all I could about beach music and shag. I didn’t know how; I just was going to do it!

When I got back to WV, I started doing some research and found out there was a Shag Club in Roanoke, VA (Roanoke Valley Shag Club). I got in touch with that club’s president, Theresa Hobek. I am sure I talked her ear off on several phone conversations. That is how I found out about the ACSC and SOS. Theresa invited my wife and me to dance lessons in Blacksburg, VA. We drove 2 hours every week to take those lessons. I met a wonderful group of people. Those lessons and Charlie Womble and Jackie McGhee’s very first videotape got me to a point where I could get around the dance floor without falling.

The more I learned, the more obsessed I became. The first SOS I attended was the Fall Migration (I don't remember the exact year). The old PAD was still there. We watched more than we danced. The shag dance hook was already deep set.

Back home, my wife was taking line dance lessons with some girlfriends at Billy Joe’s (a local club in Beckley). When the DJ would take a break, I’d ask him to play a beach music cassette that I carried around. We would shag for 5 or 10 minutes. Her girlfriends became interested and wanted to learn. So, during the line dance breaks, we would do a quick shag dance lesson. Every Friday night, we would go to Billy Joe’s and the DJ would play some beach music. One night, Pam Coffman, the owner, said that another couple was in last Saturday night and they were shag dancing. I found out it was Freddie and Becky Legg from Oak Hill. That Saturday night we were back at Billy Joe’s. When a good beach music song came on, we got up to dance and so did the Leggs. I was very impressed. It was about that time I had the idea that Beckley, WV needed a Shag Dance Club. If Roanoke could have one, so could we! I brought it up to the girls at the next line dance class. They were excited about the venture. I obtained all the information on what we needed to do to start a club in Beckley. That is exactly how Beckley Area Shag Club was started.

There were 9 founding members which included: me, Nancy (my former wife), Pam Coffman, Ann Hampton, Carol Buckland, Row Stump, Juanita Ritter, Kelly Coleman, and a girl named Freda (I cannot remember her last name). Our membership consisted of me and 8 women. We began to teach shag dance lessons at Billy Joe’s. Juanita Ritter worked for Jim Hern at the time. Jim would come to watch dance lessons. After several tries, we finally got him on the dance floor. I’ve always said if you know your left foot from your right and you can count to 8, you could learn to shag. Jim almost disproved that saying. But, look at him now, a top pro shagger.

Roanoke Valley Shag Club was our sponsor club. We had a party and they were to send representatives to make sure we were actually a shag club. We had the party at Three Gables. I think at that time, we had about 30 members and just about everyone came. I thought maybe 2 or 3 couples from Roanoke would come. There were 34 people from Roanoke at our first party. We were thrilled. Roanoke gave our club high marks. At the next ACSC meeting, Beckley Area Shag Club (BASC) was voted into the association.

Our club’s membership fluctuates year to year. Some people find that it is not for them. Some find other interests. Some move away. But, for an area as small as ours, we have done well. Our Hangar Parties were legendary and are still talked about in the shag world. The Hangar is gone, but never forgotten. What a run we had! One thing I am most proud of is that we were instrumental in helping to start 4 other shag clubs in WV. Those include Charleston, Parkersburg, Clarksburg, and Bluefield. I am proud I was a small part in bringing so much joy to the lives of so many through shag dancing.

Keep Dancing,

Charlie Cline