The Jitterbug Stroll is a swing

Swing (dance)

"Swing dance" is a group of dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s-1950s, although the earliest of these dances predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today...

 line dance

Line dance

A line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Line dancers are not in physical contact...

 choreographed

Choreography

Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...

 in 1992 by Ryan Francois, a Lindy Hop

Lindy Hop

The Lindy Hop is an American social dance, from the swing dance family. It evolved in Harlem, New York City in the 1920s and '30s and originally evolved with the jazz music of that time. Lindy was a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based...

 dancer and teacher. Ryan Francois is the creator of The Jitterbug Stroll and it saddens him to see someone teaching the wrong steps in the wrong timing and worst, posting it on You Tube. It is usually danced to swing music with 12 bar blues structure such as Woody Herman

Woody Herman

Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...

's "Woodchopper's Ball

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 was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular composition of either composer, selling a million records.The tune has been...

" or Steven Mitchell's "The Jitterbug Stroll", a modern song created for this choreography.

The dance is very popular among Lindy Hoppers, like the Shim Sham.

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 pendelum, 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 musicallity to your dance.