William Henry "Juba" Lane (1825-1852): "King of All Dancers”
“Single shuffle, double shuffle, cut and cross-cut; snapping his fingers, rolling his eyes, turning in his knees, presenting the backs of his legs in front, spinning about on his toes and heels like nothing but the man’s fingers on the tambourine; dancing with two left legs, two right legs, two wooden legs, two wire legs, two spring legs–all sorts of legs and no legs—what is this to him?” -- Charles Dickens, 1842.
JUBA A Juba (Giouba) was a dance created enslaved Africans. The word's origin traces back to Africa and a dance called "Djouba." In Haiti, it is called "Martinique." It features hand clapping and foot stomping: participants called it as "patting the Juba."
Think the Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Nicholas Brother, Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown, Gregory Hines, Michael Jackson, Savion Glover, Usher and Chris Brown. Henry "Juba" Lane anticipates the great black performers of modern times.
Henry Lane was free-born in Providence, Rhode Island. He began learning the "Irish jig" and "Virginia reel" from Jim Lowe, a black dance hall and saloon performer in New York City.
By 1835, Lane starred in "Paradise Square" in the Five Points District of New York. Paradise Square had the highest concentration of Black and Irish living alongside each other in the city. Lane was an original: he worked the different areas of his feet to create rhythms, keep time, and improvise complex, syncopated rhythms. It was an innovation. Lane's heels created the deeper tones of the bass drum; the balls of his feet layered softer, higher sounds. He maintained African oral traditions: Lane incorporated singing and laughter into his performances, adding another layer to his rhythmic creations.
In 1840, P.T. Barnum hired Lane to perform at Barnum’s Museum.
He was billed as “Master Juba, the Dancing Wonder of the Age.” By 1846, Lane was touring New England and Europe with Pell’s Ethiopian Serenaders.
He received top billing as the only black entertainer among a troupe of white minstrel performers. Lane's intense lifestyle, touring and performing every night, took a toll. Later, he opened a dance school in London. In 1852, Lane died in London. He was only 27 years old.
James E. Brunson
