Evolving from the buck, pigeon wing, and cakewalk
dances rose the patting juba, a prequel to tap dancing. There are a few
different origins to the word “juba”: one from the Georgia Sea Islands, where
“water bucket” is translated to “juba haltuh”. Another source for juba is from Africa, where
it is known as “djouba”. In conjunction with the West Indies, the juba is
sacred. The aesthetic of
this form created polyrhythmical counterpoints by clapping, stamping, or
slapping the thighs and other parts of the body, and was usually performed in
the traditional bent forward position. “Patting” was also done by hitting rhythms on
instruments such as a fiddle or banjo. Polyrhythms were made even more complicated by
the musicians who accompanied the dancers. While the dancers would slap their bodies and
move to the music, the player of music would also stomp his feet and add in his
own rhythms as well. Adding in the traditional use of improvisation
in African dance, dancers would verbally improvise their own rhymes while
dancing, as well as their movements being performed. The juba had a time
signature of a 4/4 rhythm but also had its own syncopated phrasing. The most common use
of syncopation in the juba was with the feet, an early example being the
paddle-and-roll used in tap dancing. The rhythm of the juba is also compared to the
rhythm of a time step. The use of improvisation and syncopation within
this early dance form are well seen and later developed in American tap dancing.
The man who made the juba famous was
William Henry Lane, also known as “Master Juba”.
Lane learned his skills as a dancer from watching an African-American jig and
reel dancer named “Uncle” Jim Lowe, who performed in saloons and dance halls in
New York.
After learning his technique, Lane successfully blended both African and Irish
dance styles into a new form of dancing.
By the time he was nineteen years old, he was dancing in saloons and dance
halls himself and was viewed as a professional dancer of the juba.
Critics claimed his dancing as genuinely original; what they didn’t know was
that they had seen the birth of tap dance. Without
his contribution of African syncopation and improvisation, there would be no
tap dance of what we know today.
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