MYRTLE BEACH — Landis’s own Tobitha Stewart brought home a silver medal at the 40th Annual National Shag Dance Championships but she wasn’t the only one in the family to do so. Her granddaughter Saddie Honeycutt took home third in her competition. 

Stewart has been competing in shag dancing for 20 years. For the last three, she competed with a retired fire captain, Gene Pope, of Durham, in the senior and masters professional divisions. Stewart has also competed with her husband, Landis Mayor Pro Tem Ashley Stewart, in professional and sophisticated divisions. 

As for Honeycutt, 10, she danced with partner Jackson McLaughin, who is 13 and from Greenville, South Carolina. 

While they might not compete together, the grandmother and granddaughter dancers love to practice together. 

“Saddie does the majority of her practicing with her grandfather when her partner is not available,” Stewart said. “Having shag dance in common is best. Saddie is 10 years old and I am 55 years old. The most important thing is age doesn’t matter when you’re dancing. It’s something we can always do together and share no matter her age or mine. Most of all Saddie loves the R&B music from the ’50s and ’60s.”

There are several competitions around the country and Stewart has competed in numerous events.

“Gene and I also compete throughout the year on the Competitive Shag Association circuit,” Stewart said. “Those contests are throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. We have around 10 contests a year.

“Gene and I compete at the USA Grand National Dance Championships in the Masters Division in Atlanta, Georgia, which is Memorial Day Weekend in May each year.”

Stewart and her husband also compete each year in the sophisticated division in Burbank, California, at the U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships. 

However, the Myrtle Beach competition is the National Shag Dance Championships.

“It is held every year in March,” Stewart said. “I am a two-time National Shag Dance Senior Champion and Gene is a five-time champion. At the NSDC you have to compete for three nights. Thursday night, Friday night and then, Saturday night if you make the finals. Saddie and I both made the finals.”

Stewart was introduced to shag dancing in high school by BR and Marsha Rogers. 

“Then after getting married and having children I came back to shag in my late 20s, learning from TK Robinette,” Stewart said. “At that point, the Shag bug had beaten me and I was hooked.

“Loving the music and dance makes it easy for someone to fall in love with Shag. It is certainly a Carolina thing.”

Perhaps it was the proximity or the genetic, but Honeycutt caught the bug, too.

“Saddie has always been around Shag since she was born,” Stewart said. “She did her first competition at 4 years old.”

Honeycutt is hardly alone among other young participants in the dance competitions. In fact, Stewart said that many young people participate. 

“We coach the Junior Shag Dance Team, which is a competitive team, comprised of seven juniors couples from N.C., S.C., Virginia and Florida,” Stewart said. “The Junior Shag Dance Team is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The team travels around the United States competing and showcasing the Shag and doing their part to keep it alive.”

Stewart said another fun week for any junior shagger is the Junior SOS, the Junior Shag Association event each year in North Myrtle Beach. This year it is being held July 16-21.

If you are looking for a way to spend time with your family doing something that transcends the generational divide, maybe shagging is for you.