Juba dance

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The Juba dance or hambone, originally known as Pattin' Juba (Giouba, Haiti: Djouba), is a style of dance that involves stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. It is related to Clogging and the Jig, and "pattin' Juba" would be used to keep time for other dances during a walkaround. A Juba Dance performance could include:

  • counter-clockwise turning, often with one leg raised,
  • stomping and slapping (v.s.),
  • various steps such as "the Jubal Jew", "Yaller Cat", "Pigeon Wing" and "Blow That Candle Out".

The dance traditionally ends with a step called "the Long Dog Scratch". Modern variations on the dance include Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley Beat" and the step-shows of African-American and Latino Greek organizations. [1]

Contents

[edit] How to perform a hambone

From Step it Down Games, Plays, Songs & Stories From The Afro-American Heritage as cited at Cocojams.com:

"Hambone may be performed alone or with a group all jiving together, While the rhyme is being said, the players slap their thighs lightly on the off-beat, After each line of the poem, they "pat"...

The "patting" may be done on one side of the body only, using the right hand and thigh, or on both sides at the same time in parallel motion. The triplet phrase is done as follows:

  1. Slap the side of the thigh with the palm of the hand in an upward brushing motion.
  2. Continuing the upward brushing; strike the side or the chest with the palm of the hand.
  3. Strike the thigh downward with the back if the hand.

Do this series twice, then slap your thigh three times. The entire pattern is repeated after each line of the ..rhyme..." The rhyme mentioned above:

Hambone, Hambone
where you been?
"Round the corner
And back agin"
Hambone Hambone,
where's your wife?
"In the kitchen cookin rice!"

[edit] History of the dance

The Juba dance was originally an African-American plantation dance, brought from West Africa by slaves who performed it during their gatherings when no rhythm instruments were allowed due to fear of secret codes hidden in the drumming. According to one source [2], the sounds were also used just as Yoruba and Haitian talking drums were used to communicate. The dance was performed in Dutch Guiana, the Caribbean, and the southern United States. [3]

Later in the mid-1800s, music and lyrics were added, and there were public performances of the dance. Its popularization may have indirectly influenced the development of modern Tap dance. The most famous Juba dancer was William Henry Lane, or Master Juba, one of the first black performers in the United States. It was often danced in minstrel shows, and is mentioned in songs such as "Christy's New Song" [4] and "Juba" [5], the latter by Nathaniel R. Dett [6].

[edit] Related songs

"Juba Juba", a popular song about the Juba [7]:

Juba dis and Juba dat,
and Juba kissed da yellow cat,
You sift the meal and ya gimme the husk,
you bake the bread and ya gimme the crust,
you eat the meat and ya gimme the skin,
and that's the way,
my mama's troubles begin

A song about the hambone from Step it Down (v.s.):

Hambone Hambone pat him on the shoulder
If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.
Hambone, Hambone, where have you been?
All 'round the world and back again.
Hambone, Hambone, what did you do?
I got a train and I fairly flew.
Hambone, Hambone where did you go?
I hopped up to Miss Lucy's door.
I asked Miss Lucy would she marry me.
(falsetto)"Well I don't care if Papa don't care!"
First come in was Mister Snake,
He crawled all over that wedding cake.
Next walked in was Mister Tick,
He ate so much it made him sick.
Next walked in was Mister Coon,
We asked him to sing us a wedding tune,
Now Ham-....
Now Ham....

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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