In my dance classes I often reiterate that the term “Jitterbug” is not a dance form, but rather a term for those that are fans of the Swing genre of music. A jitterbug wasn’t necessarily a dancer, but an aficionado of the music such as someone who attended concerts, purchased recordings, and frequented venues to hear the music.   A dancer was also a jitterbug, but a jitterbug was not necessarily a dancer. A term that was used to imply a swing dancer (most commonly associated with Shag dancers) was a “Sharpie.”

     “Swing” is also not a dance form, it is a musical term used to imply a swung triplet (i.e. asymmetrically timed a.k.a. syncopated)  shuffle rhythm in 4/4 time, that lent a swinging feeling (like that of swinging your body back and forth such as get in a fast waltz, but with an extra beat on the end of each measure).

     A second common musical feature of this style is the use of vocal and instrumental solos in which one musician plays the melody improvisationally while the rest of the band keeps time, it is common to have several soloists using different instruments take the lead within one song.     When a dancer states that they “swing dance,” they are implying that they dance to swung Jazz music. There are quite a few dances that fit under this moniker. Some of which might surprise you to learn that they do in fact fall under the swing dance classifier, one such example is “Peabody” (a fast style of Fox Trot based on One-Step evolution.)

Below I have included a few advertisements so you can see swing era terminology as used in publications of the time which, support my statements.

A: This compendium of swing terminology will aid you in learning the definitions of 1930’s slang and understanding the proper usage of these terms & phrases. I have highlighted those significantly related to dancing.

B: This advertisement is for a Jitterbug Contest with entry form included. Please read it and use the above compendium to understand the slang. Note that three dances are included that would commonly be danced to and associated with a swung musical rhythm/melody, these are Truckin’, Lindy Hop, and Collegiate Shag.

C: This is another advertisement for a dance contest, again marketed to jitterbugs but this time for the dancers of the Shag and the Jeep.

D: Finally an advertisement for the short film “How to Dance the Shag.” Notice is states, “Come on all you hep-cats and jitterbugs Learn – How to Dance the Shag.”