Surprisingly, there's a whole lotta tap dancing going on in Jitterbug! One of its pivotal scenes has the dancical's protagonist Billy Rhythm taking on Bill "Bojangles" Robinson when the Mayor challenges him to "trade fours" in the legendary Hoofer's Club, a small back room in a Harlem speakeasy. That janitor's closet-- for the most part (it was just big enough for an old battered upright piano, a bench and enough floor space for two dancers)-- has been called the "unacknowledged headquarters of American tap dancing from the 1920's through the 1940's." Tap even shows up in the climatic dance contest at the Savoy Ballroom when Billy and his girlfriend Tharbis Jefferson put it to use in the Jitterbug breakaway to beat their competition.
So it's quite fitting to release the "Jitterbug!" Kindle Edition today on both Bojangles' birthday and National Tap Dance Day. With teaching in mind, it is formatted for smartphones so students can use their phones at their desks or remotely from home through online learning. Performing assigned roles via Zoom or similar platforms is encouraged.
Annotated for historical context and period slang, the Kindle edition supports Endnotes where one click on a number next to a word in the script brings up a definition or supportive historicaL context pages from the Endnotes section at the back.
If read online, it affords the reader/actor the option of listening to the music used in the script while reading or performing by clicking the music link to the Jitterbug! website.
The Kindle edition also contains a map of Harlem circa 1931 of the actual places where the story takes place. Pictures of historical characters portrayed in the story can be found on the last page.
Finally, free Educator Manuals and Student Questionnaires (pdf files) based on National Core Arts/Common Core Standards for DANCE, THEATRE, MUSIC (Composition and Ensemble strands), LITERATURE, and HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES are available for download on this page. If read online, readers can click Internet links in the pdf files to multimedia targets that will enhance their learning experience.
So it's quite fitting to release the "Jitterbug!" Kindle Edition today on both Bojangles' birthday and National Tap Dance Day. With teaching in mind, it is formatted for smartphones so students can use their phones at their desks or remotely from home through online learning. Performing assigned roles via Zoom or similar platforms is encouraged.
Annotated for historical context and period slang, the Kindle edition supports Endnotes where one click on a number next to a word in the script brings up a definition or supportive historicaL context pages from the Endnotes section at the back.
If read online, it affords the reader/actor the option of listening to the music used in the script while reading or performing by clicking the music link to the Jitterbug! website.
The Kindle edition also contains a map of Harlem circa 1931 of the actual places where the story takes place. Pictures of historical characters portrayed in the story can be found on the last page.
Finally, free Educator Manuals and Student Questionnaires (pdf files) based on National Core Arts/Common Core Standards for DANCE, THEATRE, MUSIC (Composition and Ensemble strands), LITERATURE, and HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES are available for download on this page. If read online, readers can click Internet links in the pdf files to multimedia targets that will enhance their learning experience.
Enhance your Tharbis monologue with a free video
For those who are not aware, Tharbis Jefferson is the heroine of Jitterbug! Her monologue captures the zeitgeist of the Harlem Renaissance. Made to be played under the performance, the free video uses music, sound effects, and archival pictures and film footage of Harlem, the Cotton Club, and the Savoy Ballroom to help "Tharbis" tell her courageous story about how she faced down death threats and the Mob for love.
The free monologue is available below. Clicking the number beside a word will open the Footnotes to the definition of the word. Clicking the back arrow at the top of the pdf Reader will return you to where you left off in the monologue.
The free monologue video is available upon request through this site's Contact. If used in a classroom, please advise so that we can publicize its use-- and the school and student!-- on our website.
The free monologue is available below. Clicking the number beside a word will open the Footnotes to the definition of the word. Clicking the back arrow at the top of the pdf Reader will return you to where you left off in the monologue.
The free monologue video is available upon request through this site's Contact. If used in a classroom, please advise so that we can publicize its use-- and the school and student!-- on our website.
| two_steps_forward_and_no_steps_back_at_the_savoy_monologue-classroom.pdf |
Harvard: Dancing does a brain good!
In a Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute newsletter,
the esteemed university notes that Dance, in fact, has such beneficial effects
on the brain that it is now being used to treat people with
Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological movement disorder.
The article cites a handful of studies demonstrating the benefits dancing
has on the brain.
"Those with a dance background were more sensitive to others’ physical expressions, which implies that this sensitivity can be trained. In other words, it’s possible that our bodies can learn to be more empathetic through dance and other physical activities."
--Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
August 2016
In a Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute newsletter,
the esteemed university notes that Dance, in fact, has such beneficial effects
on the brain that it is now being used to treat people with
Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological movement disorder.
The article cites a handful of studies demonstrating the benefits dancing
has on the brain.
"Those with a dance background were more sensitive to others’ physical expressions, which implies that this sensitivity can be trained. In other words, it’s possible that our bodies can learn to be more empathetic through dance and other physical activities."
--Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
August 2016
1) "Participation in arts activities can increase cognitive abilities by 17%?
2) Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities are three times more likely to get a degree.
3) Children who take part in arts activities at home during their early years are ahead in reading and maths at age nine."
--Cultural Learning Alliance
2) Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities are three times more likely to get a degree.
3) Children who take part in arts activities at home during their early years are ahead in reading and maths at age nine."
--Cultural Learning Alliance
For Educators:
Jitterbug! has five free "Teacher's Manuals" available for download as pdf files with active reference links to the Internet. Based on the National Core Arts Standards, the manuals and student questionnaires are for DANCE, THEATRE, MUSIC (Composition and Ensemble strands), LITERATURE, and HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES. All of them include NCAS sections on empathy.
To retrieve the free Teacher's Manual pdf files, please ask for it through our Contact form including your name and the name of your school.
The corresponding Student Questionnaires are available below. One click will retrieve a pdf file to copy and print or to use on the computer with live Internet reference links.
Music used in the play has been assembled in a one-stop-shop for mp3 downloads here.
-- But wait, there's more! --
Free Monologues are now available!
Free Monologues are now available!
Educators and Acting Coaches have asked for them and we delivered. Finally. Hopefully they will come in handy for those "at risk" students and those where English is a second language. Please note all of them contain mature subjects and language with the two male pieces including "fisticuffs." The first one featuring the real-life person Herbert "Whitey" White, founder of the Harlem gang The Jolly Fellows and the famous "Whitey's Lindy Hoppers" (among others), is the shortest, about a quarter page long. The second, also for a male, is the longest at approximately five pages. Called "Meeting Madden," it's our hero Billy Rhythm's violent first-encounter with his boss and owner of the Cotton Club, mobster Owney "The Killer" Madden. This one challenges the actor to break into an Irish accent when necessary. The last one is for a female and at 6-pages, is the longest. It is also timed in that it can be used with a free movie (upon request through our Contact portal) that includes music and archival video. Here, our heroine Tharbis Jefferson gets to tell her story, with the help of Langston Hughes. All monologues include footnotes for period slang and historic info. If read on Adobe Reader, clicking the small number beside a word in the monologue will open the footnotes at the bottom of that page for that word. Clicking on the "Back Arrow" at the top of AR will take you back to where you left off in the monologue.
| two_steps_forward_and_no_steps_back_at_the_savoy_monologue-classroom.pdf |
| jitterbug_-meeting_madden-monologue-classroom.pdf |
| jitterbug__monologue-herbert_white-classroom-2.pdf |
For Students:
DANCE
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
THEATRE
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
LITERATURE
National Common Core Language Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
National Common Core Language Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
MUSIC
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Composition Strand:
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
Ensemble Strand:
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
National Core Arts Standards Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Composition Strand:
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
Ensemble Strand:
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
HISTORY & SOCIAL STUDIES
National Common Core Language Arts Standards for History and Social Studies Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
National Common Core Language Arts Standards for History and Social Studies Free Student Questionnaire for "Jitterbug! in the Classroom."
Please click here to retrieve your free pdf questionnaire. It has active reference links to YouTube and other sites on the Internet.
Multimedia Resources Link to dance steps, historic characters and place/scene references in the dancical. Plus an extensive Bibliography with live links to the sources and Labanotation for the Lindy and Jitterbug. To retrieve the free 8-page pdf file, please click here.
Swing Fashionista Link. Worth a look because of its emphasis on vintage fashion (archival video and more) for those considering including costumes in a Jitterbug! production.
Jitterbug! SFX. Please click here to download.
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Jitterbug! is the newest, longer, two-act version of the original award-winning play Once Upon A Time In Harlem: A Jitterbug Romance. Publication date: September 2014. Among other things, it has more characters, different music choices, and is annotated for historical context and period slang.
Size: 8.5" x 11" paperback with full color covers. Printed pages: 122 Illustrated: Map of Harlem circa 1931 showing the places in the "dancical" where the story takes place. List Price: $6.50 Please click here to purchase via Amazon.com. |
Back Cover. Please click image to enlarge.
Library discounts are available*. Take 20% off the list price: $5.20 *Librarians, sign up for the account here.
Free shipping is available if purchased through Amazon Prime.
Free shipping is available if purchased through Amazon Prime.
