Jitterbug?

[Spitfire]

Just what is meant by Jitterbug?

Now, I've been told that it refers to single time swing and I'm also told that it is triple time; all depends on who I talk to.

Could it be a term referring to swing dancing in general and not one specific style? I think I've heard this as well.

[DanceMentor]

I think the Jitterbug refers to wild swing dancers who do aerials and tricks. Back in the old days some clubs would post signs that said "no jitterbugging allowed". So I would say the term Jitterbug has nothing to do with the actual step pattern--it has to do with aerials and such.

[DanceMentor]

According to Raper's Swing Dance Corner (http://www.swingdance.com/swingdef.html)
What is Jitterbug?
It seems as though everyone you talk to has an answer such as Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Jive, or other of the Swing Dances. It depends on who you are talking to as to their definition of Jitterbug. The term Jitterbug was created in the 1930s. The people dancing to swing music were referred to as Jitterbugs - no matter what dance they were doing. Therefore, I rarely use the term Jitterbug. If I do, I am referring to Lindy Hop or am referring to all of the Swing Dances in general.

I mostly agree with Leon on the definition, it is a name that has reached across so many stages of swing dancing history.

The name itself existed much earlier than 1930 however, although it wasn't related to dance. The most favored explaination by historians is that a "jitter bug" refered to one who was drunk / acting drunk / often drunk. This name was most likely applied first in distaste for the dance, to many white Americans the black dancers seemed to shake and move like someone who had little bodily control, as opposed to the 'main stream' dances of the early 1900's. Like most named used (like the term "hippy") it came to be embraced by those it was used on. When, exactly, it was first used or accepted is hard to nail.

As swing dancing spread across the country, whether you asked for a "Lindy Hop" of a "Jitterbug" depended largely on geographic location.

For instance, in New York you would commonly approach a partner and ask if they "want to Lindy Hop". In Pittsburgh of the 1930's, you would ask if they cared "to Jitterbug".

As time went on and the dance changed to match the musical changes, the name was carried over by dancers to what they were doing, and used varingly. Today, it's useage normally depends again on location, and you will hear it referenced to either "single" or "triple step swing", as they're also called. But it's never used in relation to Lindy Hop anymore.

-FF

[d nice]

Jitterbug isn't used to refer specifically to Lindy Hop anymore by the mainstream crowd of Lindy Hoppers. My aunt, who lived in Memphis and Harlem (four months out of the year for work) calls it jitterbug, even though she was a regular dancer at the Savoy.

When I say Jittebug I tend to me a non-ballroom form of triple count swing (oddly enough I just got home from teaching both Jitterbug and Chicago Steppin') which aesthetically is very similar to lindy hop but six count dominant.