The Ryan Stroll ("Jitterbug Stroll").

This is a 'new' line dance (ie it dates from the recent Lindy revival, rather than the pre-war period), which was choreographed by Ryan Francois to fit the Woodchopper's Ball (click here to view the Music for Swing Dance pages). It can be danced to any swing music which has phrases of 48 beats (= 6 lots of 8 beats); this is a different structure to that of most of the music to which we Lindy Hop in classes, which has phrases composed of 32 beats (=4 lots of 8 beats). {Click here to visit the What is Swing music? pages, which contain a fuller explanation}.

Each 48-beat phrase in the he Ryan stroll has a basic structure that consists of

X-X-X-turn-X-break

where the 'X' is a step that changes from phrase to phrase. An outline of the dance appears below, and a step-by-step breakdown below that.

As with all of these pages, the summaries are intended to remind dancers of the steps once they have learned them, not to teach the dance from scratch.

Outline


Breakdown of steps

First 48-beat phrase;
Boogie Woogie 1
&8RL ball change stepping forward
&1RL ball change stepping forward (leaning back)
2Clap
&3RL ball change stepping back (back into get down)
Boogie Forward4-5Sweep R leg forward to right
6-7Sweep L leg forward to left
Boogie Woogie 2
&8RL ball change stepping forward
&1RL ball change stepping forward (leaning back)
2Clap
&3RL ball change stepping back (back into get down)
Boogie Forward4-5Sweep R leg forward to right
6-7Sweep L leg forward to left
Boogie Woogie 3
&8RL ball change stepping forward
&1RL ball change stepping forward (leaning back)
2Clap
&3RL ball change stepping back (back into get down)
Boogie Forward4-5Sweep R leg forward to right
6-7Sweep L leg forward to left
8Clap or click
Big strong turn1-2Fwd on right foot (NB this is on 1 NOT 8!)
3-4Turn 180 deg left, step on left
5-6Fwd (as you now face) on R foot
7Turn 180 deg lest, step on left
Boogie Woogie 4
&8RL ball change stepping forward
&1RL ball change stepping forward (leaning back)
2Clap
&3RL ball change stepping back (back into get down)
Boogie Forward4-5Sweep R leg forward to right
6-7Sweep L leg forward to left
Tap Break
8Drop on to R foot in front of you
1Dot L foot behind it
2Step back on to left foot
3
&R knee up
4R foot returns to floor (a little back)
&L knee up
5L foot returns to floor (a little back)
6Step on right foot turning 90 deg to left
7Step on left foot beside right foot.

NB - beware the rather difficult transitions in and out of the Big Strong Turn (which starts on beat 1 and ends on 7, whereas the moves that surround it start on 8).

Second 48 beat Phrase
Knee slap
8R knee up & slap
1R foot return to floor
Knee slap2L knee up & slap
3L foot return to floor
4Kick R foot to side & return next to L on '&'
Shorty George5Shorty George step left
6 Shorty George step right
7Shorty George step left
Knee slap
8R knee up & slap
1R foot return to floor
Knee slap2L knee up & slap
3L foot return to floor
4Kick R foot to side & return next to L on '&'
Shorty George5Shorty George step left
6 Shorty George step right
7Shorty George step left
Knee slap
8R knee up & slap
1R foot return to floor
Knee slap2L knee up & slap
3L foot return to floor
4Kick R foot to side & return next to L on '&'
Shorty George5Shorty George step left
6 Shorty George step right
7Shorty George step left
8Clap or click
Big strong turn1-2Fwd on right foot (NB this is on 1 NOT 8!)
3-4Turn 180 deg left, step on left
5-6Fwd (as you now face) on R foot
7Turn 180 deg lest, step on left
Knee slap
8R knee up & slap
1R foot return to floor
Knee slap2L knee up & slap
3L foot return to floor
4Kick R foot to side & return next to L on '&'
Shorty George5Shorty George step left
6 Shorty George step right
7Shorty George step left
Tap Break
8Drop on to R foot in front of you
1Dot L foot behind it
2Step back on to left foot
3
&R knee up
4R foot returns to floor (a little back)
&L knee up
5L foot returns to floor (a little back)
6Step on right foot turning 90 deg to left
7Step on left foot beside right foot.

Third 48-beat Phrase:
Suzy Q Leftwards
8R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
1Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
2R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
3Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
4R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
5Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
6 R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
7Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
<change direction>& Step on ball of R foot.
Suzy Q Rightwards
8L foot down flat (crossing R foot)
1Stepping on heel of L foot, open your R foot to the right and step on the ball of it.
2L foot down flat (crossing R foot)
3Stepping on heel of L foot, open your R foot to the right and step on the ball of it.
4L foot down flat (crossing R foot)
5Stepping on heel of L foot, open your R foot to the right and step on the ball of it.
6 L foot down flat (crossing R foot)
7Stepping on heel of L foot, open your R foot to the right and step on the ball of it.
<change direction>& Step on ball of L foot.
Suzy Q Leftwards
8R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
1Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
2R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
3Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
4R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
5Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
6 R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
7Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
Big strong turn1-2Fwd on right foot (NB this is on 1 NOT 8!)
3-4Turn 180 deg left, step on left
5-6Fwd (as you now face) on R foot
7Turn 180 deg lest, step on left
Suzy Q Leftwards
8R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
1Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
2R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
3Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
4R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
5Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
6 R foot down flat (crossing L foot)
7Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
Tap Break
8Drop on to R foot in front of you
1Dot L foot behind it
2Step back on to left foot
3
&R knee up
4R foot returns to floor (a little back)
&L knee up
5L foot returns to floor (a little back)
6Step on right foot turning 90 deg to left
7Step on left foot beside right foot.

Fourth 48-beat phrase; Note - this is the version usually danced in Edinburgh. There is another, in which, there is only one tick-tock following the Boogies Back, and it therefore takes place at half the speed (Boogie back, Boogie back, t-i-c-k, t-o-c-k). This creates a nice break of pace.
Boogie Back (R)8Flick R foot
&1R-L ball change
Boogie back2Flick R foot
&3R-L ball change
Tick-Tock (R)4Feet & hands outwards
5Feet and hands inwards
Tick Tock see note6 Feet & hands outwards
7Feet and hands inwards
Boogie Back (L!)8Flick LEFT foot
&1L-R ball change
Boogie back (L!)2Flick LEFT foot
&3L-R ball change
Tick-Tock (L!)4Feet & hands outwards
5Feet and hands inwards
Tick Tock see note6 Feet & hands outwards
7Feet and hands inwards
Boogie Back (R)8Flick R foot
&1R-L ball change
Boogie back2Flick R foot
&3R-L ball change
Tick-Tock (R)4Feet & hands outwards
5Feet and hands inwards
Tick Tock see note6 Feet & hands outwards
7Feet and hands inwards
Big strong turn1-2Fwd on right foot (NB this is on 1 NOT 8!)
3-4Turn 180 deg left, step on left
5-6Fwd (as you now face) on R foot
7Turn 180 deg lest, step on left
Boogie Back (R)8Flick R foot
&1R-L ball change
Boogie back2Flick R foot
&3R-L ball change
Tick-Tock (R)4Feet & hands outwards
5Feet and hands inwards
Tick Tock see note6 Feet & hands outwards
7Feet and hands inwards
7Stepping on heel of R foot, open your L foot to the left and step on the ball of it.
Tap Break
8Drop on to R foot in front of you
1Dot L foot behind it
2Step back on to left foot
3
&R knee up
4R foot returns to floor (a little back)
&L knee up
5L foot returns to floor (a little back)
6Step on right foot turning 90 deg to left
7Step on left foot beside right foot.


This page is part of the Swing Dance Scotland webite; http://golgi.ana.ed.ac.uk/swing/

These pages are COPYRIGHT.

Page last modified 15th Oct 1997

Jamie.Davies@ed.ac.uk