Channelling Juba's Dance
3 Dancers Explore Juba
INTRODUCTION
Channelling Juba’s Dance explores the eyewitness descriptions of the American dancer William Henry Lane (stage name Juba), renowned for his novelty and skill in the late 1840s (See Biographical Note on Juba). Eyewitnesses admitted the impossibility of accuracy, or even vague approximation, even as they imitated his rhythms in their speech, clinically described his movements, comparing them with every dance from the highland fling to Romantic ballet. They gave it their best shot, creating in the process some dynamic prose–if spectacularly unhelpful as description.
‘...it is the most wonderful conglomeration of every step that was ever thought of...’
This brief collective–fifteen minutes–draws together the skills of dancers from different traditions in order to reverse the process, exploring the words through movement.
What happens when a translation of a difficult text is translated back again–after the grammar’s changed? Can there be anything left of Juba’s performance?
Channelling Juba's Dance:
The Creative Process and Performance
Created in February 2004.
Performed at the Festival of Original Theatre, March 2004
at the Robert Gill Theatre, Toronto
with Jennifer Johnson, Kathleen Salvador and Elizabeth Dawn Snell
Performance Documentation: Channelling Juba’s Dance was a structured improvisation that changed each night it was performed. The structure that held it all together consisted of four elements:
Word Riffs: Introductory and closing improvisations trading words
Movement Riffs: Co-choreographed or improvised set-pieces based on eyewitness descriptions
Competes: Improvised competitions based on words and phrases that described Juba’s dance, but contradicted each other (Control and Abandon, for example).
Solos: Improvised each night
This Table of Contents breaks down the structure of the performance. Click on the links for information, images, and video.
Channelling Juba’s Dance explores the eyewitness descriptions of the American dancer William Henry Lane (stage name Juba), renowned for his novelty and skill in the late 1840s (See Biographical Note on Juba). Eyewitnesses admitted the impossibility of accuracy, or even vague approximation, even as they imitated his rhythms in their speech, clinically described his movements, comparing them with every dance from the highland fling to Romantic ballet. They gave it their best shot, creating in the process some dynamic prose–if spectacularly unhelpful as description.
‘...it is the most wonderful conglomeration of every step that was ever thought of...’
This brief collective–fifteen minutes–draws together the skills of dancers from different traditions in order to reverse the process, exploring the words through movement.
What happens when a translation of a difficult text is translated back again–after the grammar’s changed? Can there be anything left of Juba’s performance?
Channelling Juba's Dance:
The Creative Process and Performance
Created in February 2004.
Performed at the Festival of Original Theatre, March 2004
at the Robert Gill Theatre, Toronto
with Jennifer Johnson, Kathleen Salvador and Elizabeth Dawn Snell
Performance Documentation: Channelling Juba’s Dance was a structured improvisation that changed each night it was performed. The structure that held it all together consisted of four elements:
Word Riffs: Introductory and closing improvisations trading words
Movement Riffs: Co-choreographed or improvised set-pieces based on eyewitness descriptions
Competes: Improvised competitions based on words and phrases that described Juba’s dance, but contradicted each other (Control and Abandon, for example).
Solos: Improvised each night
This Table of Contents breaks down the structure of the performance. Click on the links for information, images, and video.
Channelling Juba’s Dance explores the eyewitness descriptions of the dance of the William Henry Lane (stage name ‘Juba’), renowned for his novelty and skill in the late 1840s, and credited with introducing African-American movement to white audiences during his brief career (see Biographical Note on Juba). Eyewitnesses to his dance were enthusiastic in their praise, and moved to attempt description, even as they admitted the impossibility of accuracy. They imitated his rhythms in their speech, clinically described his movements, compared his steps with every dance they knew, from the highland fling to the whirling dervish’ to the toe-dancing ‘wilis’ of Romantic ballet. In their attempt to translate his extra-ordinary movement into words, they created some dynamic prose, and a longing to have seen his dance. They failed, of course, limited by language and life-experience and prejudice–but they failed spectacularly.
This brief collective draws together the skills of dancers from different traditions in order to reverse the process–they have read the documents and attempted to translate them back into movement. The goal hasn’t been to recreate Juba’s dance–we admit the impossibility, just as the original eyewitnesses did. What can be left of an original event–Juba’s dance–when its translation into words is translated back again, after the grammar’s changed? The purpose of the collective is to explore this question.
The dancers brought their different styles–tap, ballet, modern and contemporary–to their reading of the words. The process began with talk, each selecting the words, phrases and sentences that seemed most pertinent to their own dance, and that simply moved them to move. The balance of the process can be divided into two distinct parts. On the one hand, they collectively explored the rhythms and images of specific texts, in some cases trading and teaching each other, in some cases purposely juxtaposing styles. But we also left room for three solos– shown to each other, commented on, discussed–but personal explorations of abandon, grotesquerie, grace and precision, of Juba’s legacy in the tap tradition, and of the tyranny and frustration of the descriptions left to us.
The first thing a collective should do is to express what it was–a collective. This is a work-in-progress, and we emphasized ongoing rehearsal as much as we could, and left room for improvisation in each performance. Jennifer Johnson acted as facilitator for the group, meaning in this case, as I saw the process, the guide toward consensus. It was gathering of equals, really–except for the dramaturg, who doesn’t dance. As for that job– I prepared the raw textual materials, provided historical context, guided the first discussion, remained during rehearsals as a resident ‘authority’ (with all the baggage that comes with the word), and an external eye when needed.
Juba was an innovator, an imitator, and a parodist, channelling all his influences and innovations through his own peculiar hybrid performance to his eyewitnesses. This collective, in turn, channels those words back through movement to a new audience. Whatever is lost in the translation, it was a joyful exploration.
Stephen Johnson
This brief collective draws together the skills of dancers from different traditions in order to reverse the process–they have read the documents and attempted to translate them back into movement. The goal hasn’t been to recreate Juba’s dance–we admit the impossibility, just as the original eyewitnesses did. What can be left of an original event–Juba’s dance–when its translation into words is translated back again, after the grammar’s changed? The purpose of the collective is to explore this question.
The dancers brought their different styles–tap, ballet, modern and contemporary–to their reading of the words. The process began with talk, each selecting the words, phrases and sentences that seemed most pertinent to their own dance, and that simply moved them to move. The balance of the process can be divided into two distinct parts. On the one hand, they collectively explored the rhythms and images of specific texts, in some cases trading and teaching each other, in some cases purposely juxtaposing styles. But we also left room for three solos– shown to each other, commented on, discussed–but personal explorations of abandon, grotesquerie, grace and precision, of Juba’s legacy in the tap tradition, and of the tyranny and frustration of the descriptions left to us.
The first thing a collective should do is to express what it was–a collective. This is a work-in-progress, and we emphasized ongoing rehearsal as much as we could, and left room for improvisation in each performance. Jennifer Johnson acted as facilitator for the group, meaning in this case, as I saw the process, the guide toward consensus. It was gathering of equals, really–except for the dramaturg, who doesn’t dance. As for that job– I prepared the raw textual materials, provided historical context, guided the first discussion, remained during rehearsals as a resident ‘authority’ (with all the baggage that comes with the word), and an external eye when needed.
Juba was an innovator, an imitator, and a parodist, channelling all his influences and innovations through his own peculiar hybrid performance to his eyewitnesses. This collective, in turn, channels those words back through movement to a new audience. Whatever is lost in the translation, it was a joyful exploration.
Stephen Johnson
Word Improv #1
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Eyewitness Riff #1
Eyewitness Riff #1
"he jumps"
This piece was co-choreographed based on an 1848 description of Juba’s dance. Each performer created one-third of the piece and taught it to the others during rehearsal, something preserved in the performance. The result was repeated in and out of unison, exploring the rhythms of the words through movement.
‘He jumps, he capers, he crosses his legs, he stamps his heels, he dances on his knees, on his ankles, he ties his limbs into double knots, and untwists them as one might a skein of silk, and all these marvels are done in strict time and appropriate rhythm.’
"he jumps"
This piece was co-choreographed based on an 1848 description of Juba’s dance. Each performer created one-third of the piece and taught it to the others during rehearsal, something preserved in the performance. The result was repeated in and out of unison, exploring the rhythms of the words through movement.
‘He jumps, he capers, he crosses his legs, he stamps his heels, he dances on his knees, on his ankles, he ties his limbs into double knots, and untwists them as one might a skein of silk, and all these marvels are done in strict time and appropriate rhythm.’
Compete #1
Jen and Elizabeth
This improvisation was based on the words ‘integration’ and ‘isolation.’ Juba was, on the one hand, apparently an important member of the troupe of minstrels that toured England and Scotland in 1848-9. He was the lead dancer, and played and tambourine in group performance, and sang. On the other hand, he was the only performer of colour in an aggressively racist entertainment form, and is often reported in the press as if he was a completely separate ‘act.’ He was without question a victim of prejudice, although an uncommonly successful participant in his art, for that time. See The Effort Baffles Description and Bad Reviews.
Jen and Elizabeth
This improvisation was based on the words ‘integration’ and ‘isolation.’ Juba was, on the one hand, apparently an important member of the troupe of minstrels that toured England and Scotland in 1848-9. He was the lead dancer, and played and tambourine in group performance, and sang. On the other hand, he was the only performer of colour in an aggressively racist entertainment form, and is often reported in the press as if he was a completely separate ‘act.’ He was without question a victim of prejudice, although an uncommonly successful participant in his art, for that time. See The Effort Baffles Description and Bad Reviews.
Solo #1
Elizabeth
Elizabeth took descriptions of Juba and internalized them in creating her dance. As she danced, the other two performers described her movements aloud. Her goal, she told me during rehearsal, was to try to get these eyewitnesses to say these words–as earlier eyewitnesses had, in their descriptions of Juba.
‘Surely he cannot be flesh and blood, but some more subtle substance, or how could he turn, and twine, and twist, and twirl, and hop, and jump, and kick, and throw his feet almost with a velocity that makes one think they are playing hide-and seek with a flash of lightning!’
Elizabeth
Elizabeth took descriptions of Juba and internalized them in creating her dance. As she danced, the other two performers described her movements aloud. Her goal, she told me during rehearsal, was to try to get these eyewitnesses to say these words–as earlier eyewitnesses had, in their descriptions of Juba.
‘Surely he cannot be flesh and blood, but some more subtle substance, or how could he turn, and twine, and twist, and twirl, and hop, and jump, and kick, and throw his feet almost with a velocity that makes one think they are playing hide-and seek with a flash of lightning!’
Compete #2
Jen and Kathleen
This improvisation was based on the words ‘control’ and ‘abandon.’ Juba was, on the one hand, described as having absolute precision of movement, and complete control. On the other hand, and sometimes by the same eyewitnesses, he was described as chaotic, out of control, and indescribable for that reason. How could he be both? See Precision and Wild Abandon for some of the sources.
Jen and Kathleen
This improvisation was based on the words ‘control’ and ‘abandon.’ Juba was, on the one hand, described as having absolute precision of movement, and complete control. On the other hand, and sometimes by the same eyewitnesses, he was described as chaotic, out of control, and indescribable for that reason. How could he be both? See Precision and Wild Abandon for some of the sources.
Solo #2
Jen
Jen had been involved in three previous theatrical performances based on the life of Juba (see Dramatic Explorations on Stage and Radio). For this purely dance-based solo, she focussed on visual evidence of Juba and the dance of the minstrel stage during his lifetime–that is, only in the 1840s. The sources for this iconography are for the most part sheet music of the period–the sources of the dances are obscure. She included the movements of musicians (accordion, bones, tambo), the wench dance (with parasol), and apparently formulaic positions of knee, arm and wrist. See Visual Documentation.
‘Such an excess of grinning, of contortions of the face, and distortion of the limbs, of jumping, dancing, and indescribable activity of body were never seen.’
Jen
Jen had been involved in three previous theatrical performances based on the life of Juba (see Dramatic Explorations on Stage and Radio). For this purely dance-based solo, she focussed on visual evidence of Juba and the dance of the minstrel stage during his lifetime–that is, only in the 1840s. The sources for this iconography are for the most part sheet music of the period–the sources of the dances are obscure. She included the movements of musicians (accordion, bones, tambo), the wench dance (with parasol), and apparently formulaic positions of knee, arm and wrist. See Visual Documentation.
‘Such an excess of grinning, of contortions of the face, and distortion of the limbs, of jumping, dancing, and indescribable activity of body were never seen.’
Compete THREE
Compete #3
Kathleen and Elizabeth
This improvisation is based on the ‘wilis,’ the dancing ghosts of early Romantic ballet, among the first to dance ‘en pointe’–and to which Juba is compared twice. The contradiction explored is between the tap shoe, normally associated with noise and a low-centre of gravity and (often) heaviness, and the toe shoe, normally associated with silence, verticality, and weightlessness. I appreciate that this isn’t news to initiates–but toe shoes tap, and tap-dancing can be done en pointe. See Comparisons with Other Dances.
Kathleen and Elizabeth
This improvisation is based on the ‘wilis,’ the dancing ghosts of early Romantic ballet, among the first to dance ‘en pointe’–and to which Juba is compared twice. The contradiction explored is between the tap shoe, normally associated with noise and a low-centre of gravity and (often) heaviness, and the toe shoe, normally associated with silence, verticality, and weightlessness. I appreciate that this isn’t news to initiates–but toe shoes tap, and tap-dancing can be done en pointe. See Comparisons with Other Dances.
Solo #3
Kathleen
Kathleen, whose dance style is most indebted to the tradition of Juba, began with a literal attempt to re-create certain movements recorded in the descriptions, and from there took her inspiration from the vocabulary and grammar of tap as she has studied it. Percussive dancing–clog and certain kinds of jig, for example–pre-dates and influences Juba. But it’s clear from the eyewitness accounts that he was changing the language of that tradition as he performed, and passing it along to a popular dance culture that continues.
‘...his steps are unborrowed from schools, unadopted from academies. They are original, novel, peculiar, curious, wonder-exciting, marvellous; toes and heels, ankles and calves, knees and thighs, elbows and wrists, nay even his eyes and the lobes of his ears...all dance.’
Kathleen
Kathleen, whose dance style is most indebted to the tradition of Juba, began with a literal attempt to re-create certain movements recorded in the descriptions, and from there took her inspiration from the vocabulary and grammar of tap as she has studied it. Percussive dancing–clog and certain kinds of jig, for example–pre-dates and influences Juba. But it’s clear from the eyewitness accounts that he was changing the language of that tradition as he performed, and passing it along to a popular dance culture that continues.
‘...his steps are unborrowed from schools, unadopted from academies. They are original, novel, peculiar, curious, wonder-exciting, marvellous; toes and heels, ankles and calves, knees and thighs, elbows and wrists, nay even his eyes and the lobes of his ears...all dance.’
Eyewitness Riff #2
Eyewitness Riff #2
'such mobility of muscles'
This piece was built in to the performance to allow for an open improvisation. The dancers describe each other, and move into a final riff on an eyewitness description:
‘Such mobility of muscles, such flexibility of joints, such boundings, such slidings, such gyrations, such toes and such heelings, such backwardings and forwardings, such posturings, such firmness of foot, such elasticity of tendon, such mutation of movement, such vigour, such variety, such natural grace, such powers of endurance, such potency of pastern....’
'such mobility of muscles'
This piece was built in to the performance to allow for an open improvisation. The dancers describe each other, and move into a final riff on an eyewitness description:
‘Such mobility of muscles, such flexibility of joints, such boundings, such slidings, such gyrations, such toes and such heelings, such backwardings and forwardings, such posturings, such firmness of foot, such elasticity of tendon, such mutation of movement, such vigour, such variety, such natural grace, such powers of endurance, such potency of pastern....’
Word Improv #2
Word Improv #2
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The Making of Channelling Juba’s Dance
A Rehearsal Journal on the Creative Process by Paul Babiak
A Rehearsal Journal on the Creative Process by Paul Babiak