Throwback Thursday and Josephine Baker
Long before Madonna, Beyonce, or Janet Jackson, there was
American-born Josephine Baker. She was
one of the world’s first African American celebrities.
Associated mostly with the Jazz Age, Josephine Baker
performed in the Folies Bergère wearing a skirt made of bananas. It was this appearance that her career began its
climb. French audiences loved her
combination of exoticism and natural charm, and she remained popular in France
for many years to come.
In 1936 she returned
to the U.S. to star in the Zeigfeld Follies.
It was a disaster. American audiences were not ready for a
black celebrity of her status. Newspaper
reviews were nothing less than cruel.
In 1970 she attempted a comeback on Broadway, and in 1975,
she opened a retrospective show in Paris.
She died that year, one week after the show opened, of a brain hemorrhage.
Today her influence is still felt – over one hundred years
after her birth.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #17:
“Josephine Baker was one of the world’s first African American
celebrities.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“All life is an experiment.
The more experiments you make the better.”
- Waldo Emerson
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