Leonard Reed's "The Revenge Of The Shim Sham,"
plus "The Joe Louis Shuffle,"
and 10-Year Anniversary Special Bonus Features

Tap Level: Beginner-Advanced

On April 5, 2004, Leonard Reed passed away. For 97 years, Leonard Reed was an amazing presence, born in a teepee and going on to become one of America's most prolific show business entertainers and producers. He has left a lasting legacy with his Shim Sham dances in both tap dance and swing dance communities through the world.

In 1927, two song and dance men, Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant, took four popular steps of the 1920's, strung them together and created the now legendary "Shim Sham Shimmy" - tap dance's "National Anthem." In the 1930's, the "Freeze Chorus" was popularized. Then in 1948, while on tour with Joe Louis (the World Heavy Weight boxing champ), Leonard Reed created a simple duet variation of the dance, which he called "The Joe Louis Shuffle." In February of 1994, at age 87, Leonard decided it was time to leave one more dance and created the "Shim Sham II." But that wasn't enough! In 2002, at age 95, Leonard Reed made up his final dance, "The Revenge of the Shim Sham."

This DVD is a true "labor of love" from writer, dancer, producer Rusty E. Frank. More than a simple instructional DVD of one dance, this DVD is a devoted homage to Reed's life and his life's work. In 2004, Leonard Reed passed on the torch of the Shim Sham to Ms. Frank. She embraced her role as "Torchbearer" and spent countless hours, weeks, and months on this tribute to one of America's greatest show business personalities. In addition to the two instructional sections, "The Revenge of the Shim Sham" and "The Joe Louis Shuffle" Shim Sham, Frank also included a host of Bonus Features. Among these are historical footage of Reed, recent performances of his dances, his last interview, and a beautifully edited montage by actor, dancer, and editor Gregory Gast under Reed's own song "Smile Up At the Sun" (recorded live at Reed's memorial service in Los Angeles, California).

DVD-R format (no region coding), PC/MAC Compatible

Save and purchase both Shim Sham DVDs:

Leonard Reed's "32 Bar Riff" CD

Leonard Reed was a proflific song writer throughout his life. Perhaps one of his last works was "32 Bar Riff", which he wrote especially to accompany his Shim Sham dances.

As a gift to Leonard, Rusty brought into the recording studio his favorite maestro of 1920s and '30's music, Mr. Dean Mora. As Rusty was to Leonard's Shim Shams, Dean was to Leonard's compositions. Dean brought in his "Mora's Modern Swingtet" musicians, including the amazing Brian Atkinson on vibes. Dean Mora arranged Leonard's "32 Bar Riff" and the resulting recording is a wonderful testiment to Leonard Reed's songwriting ability.

There are nine specially prepared tracks just for the Shim Sham. Three tracks with Rusty's taps at progressively faster tempos, and five tracks without her taps at progressively faster tempos. Plus one bonus track with five chorus to dance every single one of Leonard's Shim Sham choruses.

Classic Songs for Leonard Reed's Shim Sham Shimmy

Two fun-filled songs especially written for Leonard Reed's Shim Sham Shimmy by award-winning Hollywood composer Will Ryan, are performed once with taps, then at three progressive tempos - plus an added bonus performance with full vocals by the wonderful Palm Springs Yacht Club.

There are total of eleven tracks, especially prepared for your dancing pleasure.

Three Shim Sham Routines with Joel and Alison Plys

Joel and Alison's Shim Sham DVD is one of the best out there - you will learn all three routines on one DVD. It has over 35 moves. You will learn these versions:

* ORIGINAL (Classic dance done by Lindy Hoppers around the globe)
* DEAN COLLINS (Cool variations on the classic Shim Sham)
* AL & LEON (Another cool jazzy version of the Shim Sham)teaches the infamous group line dance from the 1950s, plus a unique couple's version.

(120 m)
1. Original Shim Sham
a. The classic 8 Jazz steps: Shim Sham, Push & Crossover, Tacky Anne, Half Break, Break, Boogie Back, Boogie Forward, Shorty George
2. Dean Collins Shim Sham – 12 Jazz steps
a. 3 sections: Shim Sham, Boogie Routine, and Savoy Kicks
3. Al & Leon Shim Sham – 12 Jazz steps
**** The ONLY product on the market with ALL 3 SHIM SHAMs on one DVD…

All you need after that is the tap dance version!