It is believed that the dance originated within the African American community[1] of the Carolinas in the 1920s,[2][3] later spreading across the United States during the 1930s.
Some dancers prefer to hold the arms much lower, similar to conventional ballroom positioning.
The identification of a particular variant as 'collegiate' probably had its roots in a trend that sprang up in the mid-1920s, where collegiate variations of popular dances began to emerge.
[7][8] These forms employed hops, leaps, kicks, stamps, stomps, break-away movements, and shuffling steps.
Nevertheless, a particular version of the shag was eventually adopted by the Arthur Murray studios where it was standardized in the late 1930s.
They also clue us into the fact that, despite its enormous popularity, the dance itself wasn't universally known by the name "shag", which only makes tracing its origins more difficult.
Arthur Murray's book Let's Dance reports that shag was known throughout the United States under various names, like "flea hop".
[11] In the 1935 book entitled Textbook of Social Dancing, Lucielle and Agnes Marsh tell us that, "At the most exclusive Charleston Colonial Ball we found the debutantes and cadets doing what they call the Shag.
"[13] The earliest known reference to a dance called "shag" can be found in a book entitled The Land of the Golden River by Lewis Philip Hall, published in 1975.
[17] Even the step 'invented' by Lewis Philip Hall was, according to author Susan Block, "...mostly gleaned from African American dances...".
[18] It has also been suggested that the dance evolved from a partnered version of the solo Vaudeville/tap step called "flea hop", which featured a movement pattern that's very similar to shag [Citation Pending].
[4] Perhaps this Vaudeville slang was what inspired Lewis Hall to give his dance the name "shag".