By Taylor Doss
Intern
Shag dancers from all over the southeast are in Wrightsville Beach this weekend, helping to support a locally-born cancer foundation while dancing to keep a uniquely Carolina art alive.
The sixth annual East Coast Shag Classic, running through Sunday at the Wrightsville Beach Holiday Inn, is bringing together as dancers to learn steps, hear shag music and help raise money for Hope Abounds, a charitable organization providing aid to women facing cancer.
Attendance grows for the shag classic every year, with the community of shag dancers has grown very close over the six year span of the event, shown by the smiles and hugs being showered around the gatherings, said Hope Abounds director of development Penny Mills.
“The event is basically a family reunion,” she said.
The four-day event features live bands like The Band of Oz and Jim Quick and Coastline, as well as social mixers and shag dance lessons for all level dancers, instructor Ken Jones said.
The shag dancers at the event said they are welcoming new dancers of all ages, though some fear the shag dance style is a dying art. Jones said that while the older generation has a great passion for shag, not enough young people are learning the dance style. But he said he has hope for shag dancing, observing that it’s more of an issue of time.
“Once people have an empty nest, they find their passion for dance,” Jones said. “I have faith that if we continue to dance, the people will come.”
Mills said that Hope Abounds is using shag dancing as a way to raise money for the organization. The East Coast Shag Classic is the organization’s primary fundraiser, but it also hosts the Summer Chill concert series and the Fall Breeze concert to bridge the gap, she said.
“Shag dancing belongs in the Carolinas,” Mills said.
The shag dancers are also helping to fund a new program Hope Abounds launched last year, A Kid’s Hope, which expands the organization’s focus to children and teenagers affected by cancer.
In praising Hope Abounds, Elizabeth and Kenny Barnes recalled answering the call to fight cancer when their 32 year old daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer. While accompanying their daughter through her medical journey, Elizabeth and Kenny Barnes said they learned that they could make a difference in fight against cancer.
Hope Abounds aims to live up to its name, and spread hope through people’s lives, said Elizabeth Barnes, explaining that the organization offers aid to people “from diagnosis to remission,” both financially and emotionally. In addition to personal aid, Hope Abounds spreads knowledge, not only to cancer sufferers, but to healthcare providers, Mills said. The medical industry is constantly expanding, she said, and Hope Abounds contributes to assuring comprehensive medical treatment for cancer screenings and treatments.
