Josephine’s World is a dance documentary that explores the communities that made it possible for Josephine Baker to rise to stardom.
Our film examines how the rich culture of Black St. Louis shaped her and how the world of entertainment framed her image and career.
The talent of world-famous dancer Josephine Baker ushered in The Jazz Age of the 1920s. Ms. Baker was born in 1906 in St. Louis’ former African American neighborhood of Chestnut Valley. As a child, she performed and absorbed the jazz aesthetics of the vibrant theater district through mentorship of her locally-famous cabaret-dancer mother and musician father. Her legacy is that she famously spread jazz dance to Europe and the world through her stage and screen performances.
Dance makes history come alive.
Josephine Baker. In a Paris cabaret as part of La Revue Nègre, 1930.
Josephine's World 