Tap History 🙌🏾 William Henry Lane, known as Master Juba, is celebrated as the father of tap dance. Born in 1825, Lane was a young African American dancer who took the rhythms of African movement and blended them with Irish jig and English clog dancing. In the 1840s, he rose to prominence in New York City, dazzling audiences and winning dance contests with his unmatched speed, rhythm, and creativity. Lane’s brilliance took him across the Atlantic, where he became one of the first Black American