Jitterbug contest in "Sten Stensson Sten kommer till stan" ~ Swing, jazz and blues - Dance to the music

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Jitterbug contest in "Sten Stensson Sten kommer till stan"

Jitterbug dancing is rarely seen in Swedish films but one film where you can see it is the drama/comedy Sten Stensson Sten kommer till stan from 1945.

The amazing comedian Nils Poppe plays the main character Sten Stensson Sten, which is an student from the University of Lund in the south of Sweden. He is a good student but has maybe studied too many years and is caught up in the academic world.

In one scene he has arrived to Stockholm to tell the youth about the dangers of dancing and that dance will probably lead to criminality. He doesn't succeed in his mission but unvillingly gets dragged into a jitterbug competion.

Watch this hilarious video clip with Nils Poppe as Sten Stensson Sten in a jitterbug contest.

The girl who dances with Nils Poppe in the video clip is Ulla Norgren. If you know anything about her, let me know.

The song is "Hela Sverige dansar jitterbug" (Everybody in Sweden dances jitterbug). Music and lyrics by Nils Perne, Sven Paddock and Willard Ringstrand. The song is performed by Freddy Albeck with Gösta Tönnes orkester.

There is actually more dancing in the film in a scene directly before this one where you can see social dancing with dancers from Stockholm, probably from the swing dance club Honkytonk. In that scene some bigotry is shown because Sten Stensson Sten (unsuccessfully) tries to get stronger drinks (like vodka) at the dance hall but all that is served is coffee and soda.

Alcohol could certainly be a potential danger to society and lead to criminality while I can't think of any dance that in itself would be dangerous.

What do you think of the video clip with the jitterbug contest in "Sten Stensson kommer till stan"? Tell me.

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