History and Characteristics of Jitterbug
The history of the Swing / Jitterbug dates back to the 1920’s when the black community, while dancing to contemporary Jazz music, discovered the Charleston. In the mid 1930’s, a bouncy six beat variant was named the Jitterbug when band leader Cab Calloway introduced a tune in 1934 called “Jitterbug.” Soon after, Swing / Jitterbug music evolved with the help of Benny Goodman’s music. Dancers soon incorporated jazz steps into their dancing.
Jitterbug music is essentially very fast Swing music. As such it is accented on beats 2 & 4 and should feel very energetic.
