Dance historians who research such things credit American jazz singer and bandleader Cab Calloway for coining the term “jitterbug.” In 1934, he recorded a lively tune, “Jitter Bug,” that some credit ...

Ray won the National Jitterbug Contest in 1938. He taught Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and others to dance and did movies with them and various artists in early days of the big screen.

The next scene features a jitterbug contest. Couples compete on the dancefloor as a band performs onstage and audience members sit at tables in the flanks. One man, after learning of the jitterbug ...