Diamond and Juba
The Raucous World of 19th-Century Challenge Dancing
The remarkable story of a lower-class dance and its rival champions
Cloth – $55
978-0-252-04679-7
eBook – $19.95
978-0-252-04834-0
Publication Date
Cloth: 12/09/2025
About the Book
During the tumultuous years before the Civil War, Irish American John Diamond and African American William Henry Lane, known as Juba, became internationally famous as competitors in the art and sport of challenge dancing. April F. Masten’s dual biography reconstructs the lives and work of these extraordinary dancers, casting fresh light on their contributions to the history of American popular culture.Challenge dancing was born from Black-Irish social interaction in the dockside markets, taverns, and theaters of antebellum New York. Promoted as a masculine art with close ties to boxing, it featured prolific gambling, hefty purses, and championship belts, yet also included women competitors, cross-dressing, and blackface. The astonishing jigs of its foremost practitioners attracted huge audiences across northeastern port cities, along Mississippi Valley circus routes, and into England’s provincial music halls. Diamond and Juba’s rivalry and parallel careers provide a rare glimpse into Black and immigrant strivings in an expanding nation keen for talent yet divided by prejudice.
A vivid portrait of a forgotten world, Diamond and Juba tells the intertwined stories of two legendary performers.
About the Author
April F. Masten is a professor of American history at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is the author of Art Work: Women Artists and Democracy in Mid-Nineteenth Century New York.Reviews
“Diamond and Juba is much more than a book about the forgotten subject of challenge dancing. Through assiduous research and by sensitively interpreting her sources, April F. Masten has fashioned a new and revealing account of race and class in antebellum New York City. The book is a stunning achievement and a fascinating read. Highly recommended.”—Shane White, author of Prince of Darkness: The Untold Story of Jeremiah G. Hamilton, Wall Street’s First Black Millionaire
“The world of nineteenth century dance and minstrelsy comes alive in April J. Masten’s Diamond and Juba. In it, Masten uncovers the story of two of the nineteenth century’s most-important popular dancers, John Diamond, a white, Irish American; and William Lane (aka “Juba”), a Black American, who created an entirely new style of rhythmic movement. The rival masters performed in the teeming world of bars, circuses, and penny museums for audiences that ignored boundaries of class and race. Through mining contemporary sources—from diaries to newspapers and unpublished memoirs—Masten adds immensely to our understanding of the various influences—racial, economic, and cultural—that came together to transform American entertainment. No one interested in American popular culture history should miss reading this important new book.”
—Richard Carlin, author of What Happened to Lottie Gee? The Tragic Story of One of the Great Black Performers of the Early Twentieth Century
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