William Henry Lane, known professionally as ‘Master Juba,’ was a dancer of colour in the 1840s, performing in the United States and Britain. I first met him in the archive in 1979, and he has been my companion ever since.
He was a virtuoso dancer, whose style was widely copied, and who was instrumental in the evolution of what we know as ‘tap dancing.’ He was an important member of the culture of ‘American Blackface Minstrelsy,’ performing with some of this phenomenon’s earliest troupes, a performer of consequence because he was a virtuoso, and because he was a rare performer of colour in an aggressively racist culture. He was a dancer who was ‘lionized’ in Britain, described in richly detailed and exuberant prose that is a gift to any historian. And he was a product and victim of the prejudice that surrounded him, at once praised and reviled, promoted and subjected.
I have attempted to restore this figure to a central place in dance history; but I have also explored the complex culture surrounding him. I have created a database of the performance of race in Britain during the early years of blackface minstrelsy, when it was a cultural phenomenon that dominated popular performance, all culminating in his arrival in 1848. I have explored the material artifacts of his presence, online and in print. I have also explored the record of his performances through projects working with dancers, musicians, and designers, resulting in stage and radio plays and dance-pieces. Juba was the impetus for a symposium on race and performance, and a publication.
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The link below will take you to all the parts of this project, as it has evolved over time.
Stephen Johnson 