The Shim Sham Shimmy or Shim Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine. It is the Lindy Line Dance and there are at least five separate versions of it. However, the point of Shim Sham is getting together and any way you do it is just fine. When a group of people do the Shim Sham (especially a group of people from different cities), their steps will be largely similar with some variation and even some improvisation. Among the alternative choreographies of Shim Sham one is developed by Frankie Manning, another by Al Minns and Leon James (also called the "Savoy Shim Sham"), and a third by Dean Collins.
The Original Lindy Hoppers at the Savoy Ballroom had a considerable background in Tap and jazz dance. They used to warm up for dancing by doing traditional jazz and tap steps. Eventually, their warm-up became standardized and a group of them could be found on the floor warming up as the band was tuning up.
The Shim Sham was originated by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant in Harlem in 1927 and has been a favorite of tap dancers and other entertainers every since. Frankie Manning has introduced it to swing dancers. It is undisputed that the Lindy revival of the late 1980s also brought back Shim Sham and no evening of swing dancing is complete without the Shim Sham.
Today in the Lindy Hop scene, when the Shim Sham is over , dancers typically grab a partner and break into lindy hop for the remainder of the song. During this portion of the song, the band or a DJ may call out "Freeze!" or "Slow!" instructing the dancers to either stop where they are or dance slowly, calling out "Dance!" to tell everyone to resumes normal dancing.
