Comments on: The Jit

The Jit

klangklangston — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:33:18 -0800

Oakland has hyphie, Atlanta has crunk. Detroit has The Jit (more, more). Beginning in Detroit as the Jitterbug back in the '20s, the dance grew up through Detroit's Black Bottom, and was adopted by gangs like the Erroll Flynns into a battle dance with the rise of hip hop (similar to pop-locking or breaking). Similar dances have sprung up elsewhere (Chicken Noodle Soup in Harlem, B-More Club in Baltimore, Toe Wop in NY, Footwork in Chicago), but Detroit is still the best. There's even a movie in the works.

By: empath

empath — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:38:18 -0800

cool post.

By: sklero

sklero — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:51:43 -0800

Wow, great post. I love this stuff.

By: prostyle

prostyle — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:53:22 -0800

There's even a movie in the works. A MetaHipHopera? /head explodes

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:54:18 -0800

Dat bullshit yall doin look like a crackhead tryin to break dance like I said b4 catch up if u can cuz Chicago is finished fuckin wit lames!!

By: safetyfork

safetyfork — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:58:32 -0800

Great links klangklangston. "How to Jitterbug" is informative on many levels, maybe not all of them to be proud of. I am, however, going to pull a "hesitation shorty-george" the next time I go out dancing.

By: pax digita

pax digita — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:25:18 -0800

Charleston, represent!

By: ORthey

ORthey — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:36:12 -0800

But isn't it hyphy and not hyphie?

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:41:51 -0800

Weird, that's pretty much the way folk danced at raves in the UK in the early 1990s. Eg, check the video for the Prodigy's Out Of Space, especially your man in the red jacket. *double drops, sniffs Vicks*

By: drstein

drstein — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:09:39 -0800

This looks a heck of a lot different than hyphy or crunk. It's actually sane & harmless.

By: PenDevil

PenDevil — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:15:24 -0800

No love for LA's Crip Walk?

By: kolophon

kolophon — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:45:52 -0800

somehow jitting reminds me of Schuhplatteln.

By: splatta

splatta — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:34:23 -0800

There's someone outside my window right now talking about the Chicken Noodle Soup song (w117th street).

By: snickerdoodle

snickerdoodle — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:39:53 -0800

Yay! Dancing and my hometown, all in one post... I will also be breaking out that hesitation Shorty George.

By: cgs

cgs — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:38:48 -0800

awesome post... i'm very interested in how popular dance grows, in that a type of dance will have a pretty rigid set of rules but then you also have innovation...how do the innovators know how they can push jitting, for instance, and come up w/ a new move, but still have it recognizable... to have it synch up. and all this without ever really talking about it (like we are)... just by watching others on the dancefloor. that chicken noodle soup dance didn't really compare...

By: sharksandwich

sharksandwich — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 09:13:10 -0800

Anyone know what song is playing in the first half of this clip?

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:57:18 -0800

Fresh!