A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

Recent entries:
“Shoutout to ATM fees for making me buy my own money” (3/27)
“Thank you, ATM fees, for allowing me to buy my own money” (3/27)
“Anyone else boil the kettle twice? Just in case the boiling water has gone cold…” (3/27)
“Shout out to ATM fees for making me buy my own money” (3/27)
20-20-20 Rule (for eyes) (3/27)
More new entries...

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z


Entry from December 18, 2022
Shawam or Shawham (dance move)

A “dip” dance move has also been called “Death drop” (or “Deathdrop”), “Shablam,” “Shawam” (or “Shawham”) and “5000.” At the end of the dance, the dance drops to the ground, with one leg straight and one leg bent. According to the YouTube video “Is It Called a ‘Death Drop’ or a ‘Dip’? 💃 Latex Ball | Logo TV” on June 28, 2019, it was originally called a “dip” and was popularized in New York City in the 1980s by Voodoo Ray (who died at age 50 in 2017). The move acquired other names in 2008-2009 and was used in television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew, and then RuPaul’s Drag Race.
     
Death Drop (Deathdrop)
“Wonderful dance fest last night. Perfected the death drop AND learned an over the arm flip. Now my right leg is recovering” was posted on Twitter by Rachel Bremer on December 20, 2008. “YESSSSS!!!! For the new Sean Paul - So Fine video! Black girl did a death drop! This my song by the way! *dances*” was posted on Twitter by S M O K E on July 8, 2009. “That was such a racing non-stop disco dance! give brandon & kayla some air to breathe! double death drop was a shock!” was posted on Twitter by Anthony Salazar on July 29, 2009 (referring to the show So You Think You Can Dance—ed.). “Death Drop A type of dance move when a dancer dramatically falls or drops backwards into a struck pose on the ground, usually to end a dance” was entered in the Urban Dictionary on September 23, 2015.
   
Shawam (Shawham)
“My check is lookin like Jazmine Sullivan’s rendition of “Round Midnight” at her highschool musical realness w/ a tip femme twist. *ShaWham!*” was posted on Twitter by Homo spirit Activate! on May 22, 2009. “Pretty Rickey’s back & she’s ready to attack! Meeooww! Cac,cak,cac,cak, BOOM! Cak, cak, cak,cak,cak,cak,cak DROP! Pusssy,pussy pop SHAWAM!” was posted on Twitter by Kellen Leech on May 26, 2009. The IMDb page for the show So You Think You Can Dance, “Auditions,” May 27, 2009: “Joseph Smith, a hip-hop dancer who clearly saw a future that included T-shirts with his image and the phrase, ‘Sha-wham!’ emblazoned on them, impressed Mary and Nigel, but Tyce wasn’t overly fond of him. Still, Joseph was invited back for choreography at the end of the day and made it through to Vegas, along with 27 other Miami dancers.”
   
“While we’re at it’s not #Shablam it’s #ShaWHAM I know! I created it! #stop” was posted on Twitter by Jack Mizrahi on April 5, 2019. “SHAWAM The hall of famer Jack Mizrahi created that line to help push up those who did that eight count into a dip. And it’s never ‘Shablam.’ Please remember that. It’s never ‘Shablam.’ Kitty kitty cat shawam! That is the sentence. ‘SHAWAM THE DIP’” was said in the YouTube video “Legendary | Vogue-Cabulary: Ball, House, Slay, Shawam, Ovah | HBO Max” on June 11, 2020. “Shawham/shawam (i.) is a type of interjection or exclamation credited to the Ballroom icon Jack Mizrahi aimed at hyping up a vogue performer as they count into a dip and slam their backs (land)” was entered in the LGBTQIA+ Glossary in November 2021.
 
Shablam
“Why oh WHY Lord can i not get enough of Scarlett taking a tumble!?! Jesus take the wheel!!!! When her ass did a SHA-BLAM! BAAAAABY!! *DEAD*” was posted on Twitter by ♔Brandon ChristophĂ©â™” on March 13, 2009. “first show in the LONGEST on saturday. kinnna juiced! need to practice on my shablam thoo! ” was posted on Twitter by Jemma Alegre on May 7, 2009. “oh no… they were krumpin’ when they was little.. now they jerk.. lol… haha… i love trannynol… makes me shablam… lol” was posted on Twitter by PincheKevy 🐰 on July 30, 2009. “shablam a type of dance move when a person dramatically falls backward into a struck pose on the ground; typically used to end a performance, intimidate a dance competitor, or as a show of excitement; often provoked by someone elongating the word ‘and’; commonly seen within gay social dance events; also called the death drop” was entered in the Urban Dictionary on February 26, 2012.
   
5000 (M5)
“Let Me See If My Selector Friends Them Know How To Mix Select Quest#1 What Would You Mix Dj Webstar- 5000 With ???” was posted on Twitter by DJ CASPAH on June 24, 2009. “I wanna see you 5000.do it for the ladies. Let’s work, do it for the ladies.I’m listening to d.j webstar and m5” was posted on Twitter by Sui Yung Harlow on September 4, 2009. “Dj webstar - 5000 dance” was posted on YouTube on March 3, 2010. “Some ppl call it a shablam, den 5000, den dip, or even deathdrop..wat do YOU call it??—Amir S.” was posted on Twitter by Amir S. on June 17, 2010. “Back in 2010 I remember when DJ Webstar had people calling it the 5000. Around the same time I remember dancers on the West Coast incorporating it into their choreography and calling it a shablam. And then, mostly from the drag community (the community that inadvertently birthed the ballroom scene), I’ve heard it called the death drop” was posted on Hornet on February 1, 2018.
         
     
Twitter 
Rachel Bremer
@ryb
Wonderful dance fest last night. Perfected the death drop AND learned an over the arm flip. Now my right leg is recovering. With Gossip Girl
4:58 AM · Dec 20, 2008
   
Twitter       
♔Brandon ChristophĂ©â™”
@born2shine4ever
Why oh WHY Lord can i not get enough of Scarlett taking a tumble!?! Jesus take the wheel!!!! When her ass did a SHA-BLAM! BAAAAABY!! *DEAD*
9:01 AM · Mar 13, 2009
 
Twitter
Jemma Alegre
@Jemmaymba
:] first show in the LONGEST on saturday. kinnna juiced! need to practice on my shablam thoo! :]
1:05 AM · May 7, 2009
   
Twitter
Homo spirit Activate!
@durandbernarr
My check is lookin like Jazmine Sullivan’s rendition of “Round Midnight” at her highschool musical realness w/ a tip femme twist. *ShaWham!*
2:58 PM · May 22, 2009
   
Twitter
Kellen Leech, he/him
@KellenLeech
Pretty Rickey’s back & she’s ready to attack! Meeooww! Cac,cak,cac,cak, BOOM! Cak, cak, cak,cak,cak,cak,cak DROP! Pusssy,pussy pop SHAWAM!
5:52 PM · May 26, 2009
       
IMDb
So You Think You Can Dance
S5.E2
Auditions: Miami and Memphis
Episode aired May 27, 2009

For the first time in four years, “So You Think You Can Dance?” returned to the spicy city of Miami to see what the dancers there had to offer. It was another two-hour audition night, so it was time to settle in with Will Smith’s requisite “Welcome to Miami.
(...)
Joseph Smith, a hip-hop dancer who clearly saw a future that included T-shirts with his image and the phrase, “Sha-wham!” emblazoned on them, impressed Mary and Nigel, but Tyce wasn’t overly fond of him. Still, Joseph was invited back for choreography at the end of the day and made it through to Vegas, along with 27 other Miami dancers.
 
Twitter
kim windyka
@kimlw
SHAWAM!? is that like KAZAAM? where’s shaq at? #sytycd
8:23 PM · May 27, 2009
 
Twitter 
Fred Kuhr
@FredKuhr
i bet nigel looks forward to the big shaWHAM! #SYTYCD
8:25 PM · May 27, 2009
 
Twitter
Tommy Geraci | host | producer
@tommy_geraci_
so it’s shawing for white dudes and shawam for black dudes? #sytycd
8:25 PM · May 27, 2009
   
Twitter
DENA and LISA
@CELEBSIDEDISH
ShWam! ShaWham? ShamWOW? #SYTYCD
8:25 PM · May 27, 2009
 
Twitter
⚜Saints Survivor (Check my pinned tweet)⚜
@YoungJazzyHo
WTF is a Shawam? #sytycd
8:25 PM · May 27, 2009
   
Twitter
Teresa Fallis đŸ‡ș🇾🎗đŸ‡ș🇩
@teresadf
Is the shawham guy retarded? #sytycd
8:25 PM · May 27, 2009
     
Twitter
Ashley Guin Hall
@ashleyguinmusic
Sha-wham?!?! Yes people, I said it! It’s my new thing and I thank you! Brought to you by this crazy dude on so you think you can dance.
8:26 PM · May 27, 2009
 
Twitter
Lauren P. B.
@perdley
I wonder if Joseph Smith is mormon? Irony? SHA-WAM! #sytycd
8:32 PM · May 27, 2009
 
Twitter
DJ CASPAH
@DJCASPAH
Let Me See If My Selector Friends Them Know How To Mix Select Quest#1 What Would You Mix Dj Webstar- 5000 With ???
12:19 AM · Jun 24, 2009
 
Twitter
S M O K E
@MrRBoles
YESSSSS!!!! For the new Sean Paul - So Fine video! Black girl did a death drop! This my song by the way! *dances*
6:51 PM · Jul 8, 2009
 
Twitter   
Tristan Andrews
@_TristanAndrews
this is going to sound like a lie…But…Michael Jackson just did a “shablam” in my dream!...I sweeeear! & it was EVERYTHING!! Thats crazy!
6:36 PM · Jul 12, 2009
   
Twitter
Karina Ulloa
@karina_ILove
omg! I just watched @metroken shablam twice in a row!! haha! i think that nigga just got a concusion!
3:39 AM · Jul 23, 2009
     
Twitter
Anthony Salazar
@anthonyakoni
That was such a racing non-stop disco dance! give brandon & kayla some air to breathe! double death drop was a shock!
9:39 PM · Jul 29, 2009
   
Twitter
Sharon O’Neill
@Prosemonkey
Nice props for the double death drop.  @kingofkrump, you make a lot of sense, in dancing and in life, you have to find that pocket. #sytycd
9:41 PM · Jul 29, 2009
   
Twitter
christy
@tiggz
seriously?  that was the crappiest death drop i’ve ever seen.  WTF?!  are we watching the same show Nigel and Mary?  #sytycd
9:42 PM · Jul 29, 2009
     
Twitter
PincheKevy 🐰
@KEVYNrockstarr
Replying to @Evolv_33
@iChillzNsD oh no… they were krumpin’ when they was little.. now they jerk.. lol… haha… i love trannynol… makes me shablam… lol
9:53 PM · Jul 30, 2009
 
Twitter
Samantha Pollino
@peanutpollino
@Myke329 yessir! i’m definitely coming to see you shwerk and shablam in the monsters show
2:19 PM · Jul 31, 2009
     
YouTube
Vogue Evolution - Weeks 1 - 5
snowfangpictures
Apr 18, 2010
Vogue Evolution
Week 1: Crew’s Choice Challenge - “Took the Night” by Chelley
Week 2: Beyonce Challenge - “Deja Vu” by Beyonce
Week 3: Martial Arts Challenge - “Work” by Ciara ft. Missy Elliott
Week 4: Bollywood Challenge - “Calabria 2008” by Enur
Week 5: Dance Craze Challenge - “Halle Berry” by Hurricane Chris
(The move is shown at 0:55, from America’s Best Dance Crew, “Crew’s Choice Challenge” that originally aired on August 9, 2009.—ed.)
 
Twitter
S.Franklin
@Franklin_est89
I LIVE FOR THESE PUNKS VOGUE EVOLUTION I HOPE THEY GO ALL DA WAY…SHABLAM BITCHHHH!!!
10:11 PM · Aug 9, 2009
 
Twitter
sailor goonica đŸ‘œđŸŒŸ
@kaNEiNAbEE
OMG IM SO HAPPY VOGUE EVOLUTION MADE ABDC!! I LOVE VOGUERS. THEY ARE SO EFFIN DOPE. I WISH I COULD SHABLAM LIKE DAT.!!!
11:45 PM · Aug 9, 2009
 
Twitter
Hollywood Starz
@Hollywood3115
Chicago just took off best dance crew…Leyomi is my inspiration sHE taught me everything i know….come on now SHABLAM!!!
11:47 AM · Aug 10, 2009
     
Twitter
Ashley C⁷
@ACnotAshley
: Sore from playin’ So You Think You Can Dance with Michael and Vanessa! haha P.s. Dont attempt a death drop near a futon. MY HEEEAD! haha
4:34 PM · Aug 10, 2009
 
Twitter
ChinaBabe
@chinababe33
Replying to @Brian_Bee
@Brian_Bee Okay…I’m a little late did you say you want to try again today? ~I just did a SHABLAM on the dance floor~
3:02 PM · Aug 19, 2009
         
Twitter
Error 404
@jrglpz
Jorel Rios from Vouge Evolution is so cute. And Laiomi’s sha-blam was good ^.^
6:16 PM · Aug 31, 2009
 
Twitter
Melissa Joan Hart
@MelissaJoanHart
Dying to learn the death drop but he won’t teach it yet. Rtany favorite dance moves yet?? 😉 (via @kingsdaughter16)
11:06 PM · Aug 31, 2009
     
Twitter
Sui Yung Harlow
@SaluteMe_Now
I wanna see you 5000.do it for the ladies. Let’s work, do it for the ladies.I’m listening to d.j webstar and m5.
9:38 AM · Sep 4, 2009
 
Blogging Best Dance Crew
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
Video: Vogue Evolution teach the Dip!
Talk of Fame’s Albert Lawrence is back on the interview and dance lesson beat. This time, he talked to Vogue Evolution after they were eliminated. The interview talks about how they merged the challenges with their personal style and how they feel about leaving the show. And, you’ve got to watch the dance lesson where Leiomy teaches him to dip!
POSTED BY NANCYT AT 6:39 AM
 
Twitter 
Amanda Barona
@ThatDancer
@bstarrrr and im so afraid 2 do dat death drop shablam lol u gatta teachh mee…...how 2 stab teachme teachme how 2 stab LMAO
3:55 AM · Oct 31, 2009
       
YouTube   
Dj webstar - 5000 dance
ferlando18
Mar 3, 2010
 
Twitter
What’s The Rates? 🙄
@isaiahdorty
I favorited a YouTube video—Leggo’s Vogue 101: Dip and Deathdrop http://youtu.be/MJjcfTxyYMY?a
11:07 PM · Jun 2, 2010
 
Twitter
opulent papi.
@RicoSaidThat
#Nowplaying Christina Milian- Dip It Low (the original before they added a beat 2 it)... I remember she did a sick deathdrop on dis video
7:24 AM · Jun 8, 2010
 
Twitter
Amir S.
@Amir_SxXx
Some ppl call it a shablam, den 5000, den dip, or even deathdrop..wat do YOU call it??—Amir S.
12:22 PM · Jun 17, 2010
     
Fall 2010, Hyphen Magazine, “Dance, Dance Evolution” by Maveric Vu, pg. 16:
Other more nontraditional dance styles are becoming integrated into hiphop performances, and Asian American dance crews are at the forefront. Channeling 70s New York gay club culture, Kaba Modern executed a group-synchronized “shablam” - where a person spins into a flat-backed drop with one leg extended and the other tucked - during a performance at Sockhop, Funkbrella’s annual fundraiser, in June. Voguing, wacking and other club styles are also moving from the streets onto the stage, courtesy of Asian American dancers.
 
Twitter
Leary N. Baptiste
@LNBII
Shablam (dip, deathdrop) - Kaba Modern - Body Rock 2010 on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=JBKcVjgL3VE
1:39 PM · Feb 11, 2011
       
Twitter
Sarita
@SaritaBonita11
Aww….Shangela that ho did a death drop….
@RuPaulsDragRace
1:56 AM · Mar 23, 2011
 
Twitter
charles petka
@OMGitschuck29
Replying to @RuPaulsDragRace
@RuPaulsDragRace lets not forget the shablam!LOL.
11:14 PM · Apr 5, 2011
     
Twitter
RazielVicious
@RazielVicious
Okay imma need everyone to RT this: It’s called a DIP, not a shablam, or a shawam. Get it right!
5:51 PM · Jun 19, 2011
 
Twitter
Michael Taylor
@mrvanity1
@RuPaulsDragRace omg is that someone off ru pauls draq race on Dance Moms!! i wanna learn the death drop!!
10:41 PM · Sep 15, 2011
 
Twitter
đŸ« Sweet Tea đŸ”
@TwjnkNextDoor
I Never Heard Anyone Call A Dip Anything Other Than A Dip, A Fall Or A Deathdrop… But As Shablam.? #ThayShitCray
11:23 PM · Nov 4, 2011
   
Twitter
the king of outside
@_FatherSlay
@PONYZION question:What is the correct name: DeathDrop,Drop,Fall,Dip or Shablam?
4:03 PM · Nov 23, 2011
 
Urban Dictionary
shablam
a type of dance move when a person dramatically falls backward into a struck pose on the ground; typically used to end a performance, intimidate a dance competitor, or as a show of excitement; often provoked by someone elongating the word ‘and’; commonly seen within gay social dance events; also called the death drop.
“Aaaaaaaand…..SHABLAM!!”
“That hoe was tryin’ to call me out at the club last night when she shablammed on the dance floor.”
“She broke out the Beyonce ‘Sing Ladies’ choreography, then wrapped up the show with a shablam. She a bad bitch.”

by Kray Shay February 26, 2012
   
Twitter
Not shy but Shi
@I_StillStanding
I still need to learn the death drop, the dip, the shablam & what I call the back breaker, whatever u wanna call it I needs to learn it
4:29 PM · Apr 16, 2012
       
Twitter 
ughhhh
@lovinoutlook
Just becuz @RuPaulsDragRace season V started and we have new queens, I still got @itsSHANGELA back.
#dragrace #werqingirl #deathdrop
10:46 AM · Jan 29, 2013
 
Urban Dictionary
Death Drop
A type of dance move when a dancer dramatically falls or drops backwards into a struck pose on the ground, usually to end a dance.
Turn turn turn stop annnnddd death drop
by Nevaeh Herbert September 23, 2015
     
Daily News (New York, NY)
New York-based dancer Voodoo Ray dead at 50
By Rachel DeSantis
Oct 18, 2017 at 6:16 pm
Voodoo Ray, a New York-based dancer known for his slick moves and for being a fixture in the city’s club scene, reportedly died Tuesday. He was 50.
       
Hornet
It’s Neither a Death Drop Nor a Shablam: Celebrating the Art of ‘The Dip’
Written by Mikelle Street on February 1, 2018
One of the biggest moments of the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 3 premiere was Aja’s variety show performance. Pulling from the ballroom scene, the Brooklyn queen duckwalked, gave a bit of a hand performance, went up onto a box and came careening down, one leg extended. The audience reactions even inspired a meme. Guest judge Vanessa Hudgens called it a “shablam.” Many have referred to it as a “death drop.” Except it’s neither.
(...)
Over the past decade I’ve heard the move deemed a few things. Back in 2010 I remember when DJ Webstar had people calling it the 5000. Around the same time I remember dancers on the West Coast incorporating it into their choreography and calling it a shablam. And then, mostly from the drag community (the community that inadvertently birthed the ballroom scene), I’ve heard it called the death drop. And as that community has mainstreamed, seeing unprecedented visibility, so have the terms it uses.
 
Twitter
Drake Konow
@konowdrake
Another season 10 queen, Miz Cracker described her drag persona as a “Jewish Barbie on bath salts” and coined the phrase, “Shabbat Shablam!” Since her run on the show, she’s published her “Review with a Jew” series, a “Jewtorials” series with WOW, & made latkes with Bon Appetit.
8:12 PM · Dec 18, 2018
 
Vanity Fair
Jennifer Lopez Teaches You Dance Slang with Derek Hough and Ne-Yo
Released on 02/19/2019
(...)
[Ne-Yo] A shablam.
Shablam.
We know what shablam is.
Yeah, I know what a shablam is.
I can’t do it. But come on, do it.
I can’t do it in this pant.
So it’s a vogueing move actually.
Yes.
It comes from the Vogue world.
It’s like the finishing move, it’s where you just
fall down literally.
In a jazz split, your back to the floor.
No hand.
Yeah, there’s a specific way to do it, though.
Shablam, on the floor, okay.
Right, yeah, it’s one of those you go, ahh.
I don’t shablam.
           
Twitter
Jack Mizrahi
@gorgeousjack
While we’re at it’s not #Shablam it’s #ShaWHAM I know! I created it! #stop
Quote Tweet
Twiggy Pucci Garçon
@SimplyTwiggy
·
Apr 4, 2019
🗣ITS NOT A DEATH DROP, ITS CALLED A DIP!!!
🗣ITS NOT A DEATH DROP, ITS CALLED A DIP!!!                      🗣ITS NOT A DEATH DROP, ITS CALLED A DIP!!!
6:53 AM · Apr 5, 2019
 
Out
Dear RuPaul: Stop Letting People Say ‘Death Drop’ on ‘Drag Race’
If we’re going to have voguing on the show, why isn’t the ballroom scene involved?
BY MIKELLE STREET
APRIL 05 2019 1:19 PM EDT
(...)
Throughout the episode, the move of lowering oneself to the ground, one leg extended, is referred to as both a “shablam” and a “death drop” — in fact, it has been called a “death drop” throughout the history of Drag Race, and therefore largely throughout popular culture as a consequence. It has been justly referenced as a move originating from the ballroom scene as one of five integral elements of voguing. Except 
 it is not called a death drop. Or a shablam. And quite a few people pointed that out on social media.
(...)
As for the term “shablam” which is mostly used by the dance community? Listen, I get it, things can be confusing. You watch your little ballroom clips and when people do a dip, you hear something that sounds like “shablam” either from the person on the mic or the crowd. First of all, that’s not the name of the move, it’s just an onomatopoeic cue that goes along with it. An emphasizing of the crash in the song. And second of all 
 it never was “shablam” anyway. It was “shawham,” as ballroom icon Jack Mizrahi, who originated the term and usage pointed out.
   
YouTube
Is It Called a “Death Drop” or a “Dip”? 💃 Latex Ball | Logo TV
Logo
Jun 28, 2019 #LogoTV #LatexBall
The debate rages on. It is a “death drop” or a “dip”? We ask and get the full tea to give us answers and the history behind this iconic and fabulous move.
   
Twitter
Milan Christopher
@MilanChrisGordy
Dear straights & gays who aren’t familiar with the ballroom culture! ITS CALLED A FUCKING “DIP” not a death drop, not a shablam, not the 5000 - “A DIP”! Thanks Management!
4:22 PM · Jun 30, 2019
 
Twitter
danica aubrey
@dncngls
hello again my dance community, remember: vogue, the “shablam”/death drop, and waacking were all originated and used by - U GUESSED IT - the Black LGBTQ+ community!
Quote Tweet
Vogues’ Best
@VoguesBest
·
Jun 3, 2020
VOGUE FOR JUSTICE #BlackLivesMattter #BlackTransLivesMatterđŸ–€đŸ–€
Mother Karma Gorgeous Gucci, Amya Mugler, and Adonte Prodigy showing out at the Chicago Protest!!â€ŒïžđŸŒˆđŸ”„ (Chicago, 2020)
Show this thread
5:25 PM · Jun 3, 2020
     
YouTube
Legendary | Vogue-Cabulary: Ball, House, Slay, Shawam, Ovah | HBO Max
HBO Max
Jun 11, 2020 #HBOMax #WarnerMedia #LegendaryMax
0:53
“SHAWAM The hall of famer Jack Mizrahi created that line to help push up those who did that eight count into a dip. And it’s never ‘Shablam.’ Please remember that. It’s never ‘Shablam.’ Kitty kitty cat shawam! That is the sentence. ‘SHAWAM THE DIP.’”
 
Twitter
Chester (Phoenix) Mabanag
@ChesterMabanag
BALLROOM 101
SHABLAM never existed.
Correction: It’s SHAWAM
A word coined by Jack Mizrahi.
3:51 AM · Jul 17, 2020
     
Twitter
Pikachu
@jaysca101
I keep having to google it every time I see some voguing video comes up and half the comments are calling it “death drop” or “shablam” instead of “dip” or “shawham”(?)
11:21 AM · Sep 9, 2021
     
LGBTQIA+ Glossary
Shawham/shawam
(i.)
is a type of interjection or exclamation credited to the Ballroom icon Jack Mizrahi aimed at hyping up a vogue performer as they count into a dip and slam their backs (land).
 
Shawham itself serves as a type of punctuation on the chant leading into a crash of the beat when the performer dips, as shown in the video below, “kitty, kitty, cat, shawham!” This term is often confused with shablam, a term that has entered popular discourse from RuPaul’s Drag Race and broader drag culture but is a misnomer when considering the Ballroom origin of the term.
 
Twitter
Robyn Ochs 💖💜💙
@robynochs
This “lgbtq” glossary includes “Shawham/shawam (i.) is a type of interjection or exclamation credited to the Ballroom icon Jack Mizrahi aimed at hyping up a vogue performer as they count into a dip & slam their backs (land),” but not #bisexual or #pansexual.
@GoogleNewsInit
, WTF?
Quote Tweet
Google News Initiative
@GoogleNewsInit
·
Nov 19, 2021
Today, in partnership with @Video_Out, @MensHealthMag & @Polygraphing we are launching the LGBTQIA+ Language and Media Literacy Program, an interactive data viz detailing the origin, evolution, and current usage of LGBTQ+ terminology. https://lgbtq-language-project.uc.r.appspot.com
Show this thread
3:30 PM · Nov 24, 2021
 
Twitter
AJA LABEIJA 🍯👑
@ajaoxum
Death drop is one of the most miss used words. Death drop is a majorette dance term. A DIP is proper for the move. But let’s be real half of these bitches are not dipping, they’re throwing themselves on the floor and breaking their back.
Quote Tweet
nick james bitch
@nickjamestheone
·
Mar 14
Replying to @ajaoxum and @theemisstoto
it’s about time for “death drop” to be left in the past, i cringe every time lol
2:28 PM · Mar 14, 2022
 
Twitter
Denis Ricardo
@denistricardo
Controversial opinion: I don’t think it matters if you call it a dip, deathdrop or shablam. People will cry “Drag Race!” But I heard drag queens saying deathdrop and shablam before RPDR. I really think it’s just a regional name for the same dance move.
3:38 AM · Jun 10, 2022
 
Twitter
kenny
@aintkenny
and please, stop calling it a Death Drop/Shablam/Shawam. It’s a DIP.
1:30 PM · Jul 25, 2022

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityMusic/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus • Sunday, December 18, 2022 • Permalink


Commenting is not available in this channel entry.