Tracing the Slow Drag's Roots

The Slow Drag is featured in Jitterbug!s rent party scene where the dancical's protagonists Billy Rhythm and Tharbis Jefferson get it on in a crowded Harlem tenement apartment. Here's rehearsal footage of that scene by Emmy nominated choreographer Jeffrey Page. Because Billy and Tharbis are professional dancers from the Cotton Club, they take it to another level. Khalil Kain and Afi McClendon are the dancers. Music is Jitis Blues by Memphis Minnie (1930). 

The Blues and Jazz Dance Book Club (BJDBC) has an informed and thorough examination of the Slow Drag's roots and interpretations with archival and new videos. A Landscape of Slow Drag borrows on first-hand observations from dancers who actually danced it back in the day. It also has a great video by Damon Stone showing the evolution of the steps-- from dancing in place in tight juke joints to moving across a dance floor (attributed to Savoy bouncers forcing dancers to "evolve" the dance in order to keep Slow Draggers from blocking the Savoy's  "flow"). ​

This article was found on the muy worthy American Lindy Hop Championships.