The Jitterbug Stroll is a
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
line dance
A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight ...
choreographed
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
in 1992 by
Ryan Francois,
[
] a
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...
dancer
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
and teacher. It is danced to swing music with
12 bar blues
The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...
structure such as
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
's "
Woodchopper's Ball "Woodchopper's Ball", also known as "At the Woodchopper's Ball" is a 1939 jazz composition by Joe Bishop and Woody Herman. The up-tempo blues tune in D-flat major was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular compositio ...
" or Count Basie's "
One O'Clock Jump
"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written by Count Basie in 1937.
Background
The melody derived from band members' riffs—Basie rarely wrote down musical ideas, so Eddie Durham and Buster Smith helped him cr ...
".
In the 1990s, the dance was very popular among Lindy Hoppers, like the
Shim Sham
The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem. For today's swing dancers, it is a line dance.
History
In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed and Willie Bry ...
.
The step list for the Jitterbug Stroll is as follows:
The dance is organized in groups of 6 bars of 8 beats each. each group of 6 bars faces a different direction on the dance floor - meaning the dancer turns 90 degrees every 6 bars. every group of 6 bars is organized in the following way: 3 bars of a signature step, 1 bar of stroll around/pivot turn, 1 bar of signature step and 1 bar of a break step that helps the dancer turn 90 degrees. The signature step is different for every group of 6 bars.
*first group (the first bar in every group starts with the right leg always)
**Hustle forward (2 beats)
**Skip back (2 beats)
**Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)
**Hustle forward (2 beats)
**Skip back (2 beats)
**Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)
**Hustle forward (2 beats)
**Skip back (2 beats)
**Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)
**Stroll Around (sometimes also called jazz pivot turn) (8 beats)
**Hustle forward (2 beats)
**Skip back (2 beats)
**Boogie Forward twice (4 beats)
**Break step (4 beats) (step right, tap left behind right, step left, tap right behind left)
**Turn 90 degrees (4 beats) (step right, turn 90 degrees, step back left, step back right, step forward left)
*second group
**Knee slap right (2 beats)
**Knee slap left (2 beats)
**Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)
**Knee slap right (2 beats)
**Knee slap left (2 beats)
**Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)
**Knee slap right (2 beats)
**Knee slap left (2 beats)
**Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (to the left) (4 beats)
**Stroll Around (same as above)
**Knee slap right (2 beats)
**Knee slap left (2 beats)
**Kick right and Shorty george 3 times (4 beats)
**Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)
*third group
**
Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)
**Suzie Q right (start with left leg cross over right) (8 beats)
**Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)
**Stroll Around (same as above)
**Suzie Q left (start with right leg cross over left) (8 beats)
**Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)
*fourth group (last one)
**Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)
**Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)
**Boogie back kicking with left leg (4 beats)
**Tick Tock (to the left) (4 beats)
**Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)
**Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)
**Stroll Around (same as above)
**Boogie back kicking with right leg (4 beats)
**Tick Tock (to the right) (4 beats)
**Break Step and Turn around (8 beats same as above)
*and repeat from the top
When doing the Tick Tock you can tilt your head as a pendulum, starting in the direction you are moving.
This dance can be danced to any song that has a 12 Bar structure or a 6 bar AABA chorus structure. The AABA chorus structure would allow you to do the Suzie Q's on the B chorus line (sometimes referred to as a Bridge), adding enhanced musicality to your dance.
References
{{Reflist
Line dances