Homage to Joséphine Baker & George Gershwin
Joséphine Baker has been inspiring people for over a hundred years. Dancing her way out of the slums of the American South, she conquered the stages of the world.
French audiences were curious about the strange and foreign from America. They were fascinated by the new artistic forms. Joséphine Baker took Paris by storm with her revealing dance performances. She was sensual, pure, exotic and a star.
"She is said to dance not only with her body, legs and arms, but also with her eyes". Her admirers at the time included Pablo Picasso and the singer Edith Piaf. She was also admired by the writer Georges Simenon, the composer George Gershwin and France's then head of government, General Charles de Gaulle.
"I like the French very much. Even when they insult you, they do it in such a nice way." Josephine Baker wasn't the only one who sought the company of the nice French. Whole flocks of Americans settled in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s - so many that humorist James Thurber moaned: "The Champs-Élysées already looks like an American Main Street." Among all the Americans in self-imposed exile, the many artists - musicians, writers, painters - are the subject of numerous legends to this day. And George Gershwin's 'An American in Paris' is nothing less than an acoustic painting of the city."
Despite all reservations, she was already considered one of the most important show stars of the 20th century. France also made her its national heroine. During the Second World War, she initially worked for the Red Cross.
She then rose through the ranks of the Resistance. Among other things, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor.
With Jo Bouillon, Joséphine Baker adopted twelve children of different skin colors from different parts of the world. She financed the livelihood of her rainbow family through further stage appearances.
She first performed in Berlin in 1925/26.
To mark the upcoming 100th anniversary, the Astoria Salonorchester is dedicating an evening to her artistic work, her inspiring role as an artist, resistance fighter, civil rights activist and transformative cultural figure.
This concert is part of the "Klingendes Gut" series sponsored by the NDR Film and Music Fund and the Bürgerfonds Kultur MV. "Klingendes Gut" is a musical and literary journey through Mecklenburg's manors and manor houses, bringing music and literature to rural locations that have traditionally served as performance venues for music and art for many hundreds of years.
