Dance Forms Codexery

Jitterbug

A swing dance term that began as a racial ridicule.

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Jitterbug is a general term for swing dancing that often includes elements of the Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, and other swing dances.[1] The dance originated in African American clubs in Harlem and became popular in the 1930s.[1]

Quick Facts

Genre
Swing

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The word "jitterbug" combines "jitter" and "bug," both of unknown origin according to the Oxford English Dictionary.[2] The first recorded use of the term "jitter bug" in the OED is from the 1934 Cab Calloway song "Jitter Bug"[3] Cab Calloway's song "Call of the Jitter Bug" and the film "Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party" popularized the term further.[1] The Bella Ballroom account states the name came from a slang term for alcoholics who had the "jitters"[1]

In 1944, a 30% federal excise tax on night clubs featuring dancing led to "No Dancing Allowed" signs across the United States.[4] American GIs spread the jitterbug to Europe during World War II.[1] By 1957, the television show American Bandstand featured jitterbug as the most popular fast dance.[5] African-American communities in early 20th-century New York City originated swing dancing, and the jitterbug evolved from dances they performed at juke joints and dance halls, with the Carolina shag and single Lindy Hop as its basis.[6][7]

The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, which operated without racial discrimination, became a well-known location where both black and white dancers mingled and danced together.[8][7]

What the cited sources add

The Bella Ballroom account notes that the lyrics of Cab Calloway's song drew a strong association between the jitterbug and alcohol consumption.[1] The same source explains that when rock and roll became popular in the 1960s, a new solo improvisation dance called the "Jit" evolved in Detroit from jitterbug styles.[1] The Bella Ballroom account reports that the jitterbug continues to be used as a social, competition, and performance dance today.[1]

References

  1. "Jitterbug - Bella Ballroom - Orange County’s Premier Dance Studio", Bellaballroom.com. facts only, no text reused. bellaballroom.com
  2. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "jitterbug, n. in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service.; "jitterbug, v. in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service.; "jitter, n. in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service.; "jitter, v.. in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service.; "bug, n.2 in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "jitterbug, n. in Oxford English Dictionary", Subscription service. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Felten, "How the Taxman Cleared the Dance Floor", Wall Street Journal, 2013-03-17; COPELAND, "Some Effects of the Changes in the Federal Cabaret Tax in 1944", Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Taxation Under the Auspices of the National Tax Association, 1945, p. 321–339; Hill, "Tap dancing America : a cultural history", New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shore, "The History of American Bandstand", Ballantine Books, 1985, p. 54 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1968). Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. page 331.; Dance a While: Handbook of Folk, Square, and Social Dancing. Fourth Edition. Harris, Pittman, Waller. 1950, 1955, 1964, 1968. Burgess Publishing Company. No ISB (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jitterbug - Bella Ballroom - Orange County’s Premier Dance Studio", Bellaballroom.com; "Jitterbug - Bella Ballroom - Orange County’s Premier Dance Studio", Bellaballroom.com; "The Call of the Jitterbug" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Jitterbug" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1968). Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. page 330.; Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1968). Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. page 331.; Swinging at the Savoy. Norma Miller. page 63. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jitterbug (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Dance Forms

KabukiLatin danceLion danceMacarenaMambo (dance)Social danceSquare danceStreet danceSwing (dance)Tap danceTwist (dance)Line dance

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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