John Carpenter and Robin Morley

Robin Morley and John Carpenter have been married for 8 years. Robin has been dancing the Shag for 30+ years. She is a former President of the Sandy Beach Shag club and was responsible for reforming the club in 2005 after it had disbanded.  She was awarded the prestigious Icon of Shag award by the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs in 2011. John has been dancing for 15 years and is also a 3 term past president of the Sandy Beach Shag Club and currently the president again. He also was awarded the Shag Icon Award by the Association of Carolina Shag Clubs in 2014. Robin and John have been guest instructors at other shag clubs and are widely known in shag circles.  Robin is currently Chairman of the ACSC.  Robin and John have been taught themselves by the very best professional shag instructors in the Carolina Shag arena.  Sam and Lisa West, Charlie Womble and Jackie McGee, Michael and LeAnn Norris, and Gene and Nancy Pope, just to name a few.  All of these professionals are National Champions.  Robin and John have been teaching shag students now for over 13 years, themselves. Robin and John have been inducted into the National Boppers Hall of Fame in Jacksonville, Florida.  They were inducted in November of 2017 to the National Living Legends of Dance, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

They teach Beginners 1, 2 and 3, level classes as well as Intermediate, Mirror Steps  and Lead and Follow instruction. They also teach style classes. They have also taught high school students from Freedom, Patton, and South Caldwell.  They have taught students from Granite Falls middle school and the camp for home school children held annually at the Old Rock School in Valdese, NC. They have mentored a number of students that have chosen the Shag as their senior project.  They also conduct private lessons that are held at the discretion of the student.

Gary and Marlene Barlow

Gary and Marlene are experienced instructors. They have been involved in SHAG DANCING since they walked in to Godfrey’s in Hickory NC to learn a line dance (The Continental) for a fund raiser for the March of Dimes in 2009. They have been married for 52 years after a whirl wind romance going back to the 7^th and 8^th grade thru high school. Dancing and band has been in their life for this long a period of time. Gary was a percussionist and Marlene a majorette and French horn player.  Rock & Roll, Disco, Country Western and since 2010 Shag has taken on a new life in their busy schedule.  They haven’t missed a S.O.S. since 2010 where they participate in classes by Sam & Lisa, Charlie & Jackie and yes even Judy Duke.  They are more than happy to share their learning experiences with SBSC.  Prior instructions were demonstrated at Davenport School and Morganton’s Dance Factory and for the last 3 years at 1841 Café in Lenoir, and SBSC.

Susan Duncan

Susan Duncan has been a member of Sandy Beach Shag Club since 2011 when she attended her first Carolina Shag lessons. Susan began line dancing over 20 years ago. She has been the line dance instructor for SBSC for 7 years. Susan has attended classes with world renowned choreographers and dancers throughout the years. She attends workshops in North and South Carolina including Big Bang in Charlotte, NC, Line Dance Marathon in Raleigh, NC and Our Chance to Dance in Columbia, SC. She was an instructor at Buck’s Country Line Dance workshop in Gastonia. She also teaches an improver/intermediate class at the Burke County Senior Center in Morganton. Susan is currently the secretary for SBSC and received the Honorary Life time Member award in 2018.

Lessons are held at the Elks Lodge (see map under Finding Us) on Thursday nights at 6:30pm or 7:45pm, depending on the class being taught. Lessons go about an hour each. On occasion, lessons will go for two hours, but that is announced beforehand.

Open dancing sometimes follows lessons.  All people are invited to come for open dancing. We are fortunate to have the Elks facility and we are able to purchase beverages from the bar area (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). We hope you have a wonderful time and will consider joining the Sandy Beach Shag Club. The cost is only $20 a year and membership entitles you to free Basic I lessons for as long as Robin and John are instructors.

Watch Robin and John Dance at the Morganton Day School Charity Event

Article on our shag lessons from The News Herald, in Morganton