Master Juba
American dancer (c1825-c1852/3) · United States · On the map · Died at 27
Master Juba was an African-American dancer active in the 1840s. He was one of the first black performers in the United States to play onstage for white audiences and the only one of the era to tour with a white minstrel group.
Master Juba is read about 37 times a day, in 9 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 22 June 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
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In 1842, Charles Dickens watched a spirited dancer in New York City and wrote about him in his American Notes, published the same year. This engraving was an illustration from that book. Later writers identified the youth as Juba.
Playbill for Pell's Serenaders, with whom Boz's Juba was playing in 1848
Woodcut of Juba from The Illustrated London News, August 5, 1848
A caricature of Juba and Pell from the 1848 season shows Juba in a characteristic dance pose.
Juba likely influenced the development of modern dance forms, such as step dancing.About this person
His real name was believed to be William Henry Lane, and he was also known as "Boz's Juba" following Charles Dickens's graphic description of him in his 1842 travelogue American Notes. By affecting blackface performance, Juba was highly influential in the development of such American dance styles as tap, jazz, and step dancing.