RECORD SET FOR GUINNESS

Shaggers came to make history.

Shaggers in North Myrtle Beach dance into record books

It’s official: Shaggers who danced in the fall of 2011 in North Myrtle Beach landed in the record books.

Organizers of the “Largest Carolina Shag Dance” received an e-mail this week from the Guinness World Records keepers confirming that the Sept. 24 attempt at the North Myrtle Beach Aquatics & Fitness Center was a success.

“I was so excited because we have been waiting since October,” said Anne Henry, a shagger from Jacksonville, Fla., who organized the record attempt during the Society of Stranders’ Fall Migration. “Every morning I would look at my e-mail.”

About 744 dancers participated – nearly three times the number needed to land in the record books. No one held the record for “Largest Carolina Shag Dance,” but Guinness World Records officials told organizers at least 250 shaggers had to dance in synchronized steps for at least five minutes to set the record. Henry compiled all the documentation of the event – videos, photos, paperwork – to submit to Guinness.
“It’s a great deal of work and effort,” Henry said.

The news came just in time for the shaggers’ mid-winter event in North Myrtle Beach, which kicks off Thursday. Some leftover T-shirts and photos from the record-setting event will be for sale in the S.O.S. Company Store off Ocean Boulevard, Henry said, adding that the shaggers will be celebrating their accomplishment next weekend.

“I mean, how many people do you know who are in the Guinness Book of World Records?” she said.

The shaggers’ record attempt was one of several along the Grand Strand last year. The shaggers were more successful than dancers who sought to set the record for the most people doing “The Twist” in Myrtle Beach during a spring festival. The attempt went bust after confusion erupted when Chubby Checker hit the stage, causing dancers to scurry out of the restricted record-setting area.