Homage to Joséphine Baker & George Gershwin
The musical season finale in the Baltic health spa Graal-Müritz
An American in Paris
Homage to Joséphine Baker & George Gershwin
Astoria Salon Orchestra & Swing Connection Rostock
October 31, 2025 | 8 pm (admission from 7 pm) | Haus des Gastes in Graal-Müritz
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 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 Édith Piaf. She was also admired by the writer Georges Simenon, the composer George Gershwin and France's head of government at the time, General Charles de Gaulle.
"I like the French very much. Even when they insult you, they do it in such a nice way." Joséphine Baker was not 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 the 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 other 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 to prominence in the Resistance. For this, she was awarded the French Legion of Honor, among other honours.
Together with Jo Bouillon, Joséphine Baker adopted twelve children of different skin colors from different parts of the world. She financed the upkeep of her rainbow family through further stage appearances.
Joséphine Baker first appeared in Berlin in 1925/26.
To mark the 100th anniversary, the Astoria Salonorchester and the Swing Connection Rostock are dedicating an evening on October 31, 2025 entirely to the artistic work of Joséphine Baker, her inspiring role as an artist, resistance fighter, civil rights activist and transformative cultural figure.
Information:www.astoria-salonorchester.com & www.swing-connection-rostock.de
Admission price for residents of the Baltic health spa Graal-Müritz & guest card holders: €34 / person
Note: Persons who are neither residents of the Baltic health spa Graal-Müritz nor in possession of a guest card are obliged to pay a daily visitor's tax in addition to the admission price. - Advance ticket sales in town start on March 12, 2025.
Tickets are available in advance at the Haus des Gastes Graal-Müritz (Rostocker Str. 3, 18181 Graal-Müritz) or at the info point at the pier as well as at the box office - while stocks last!
Online ticket store:eventim-light
Sale in the eventim-light ticket store: admission price: €36.18 per person (incl. ticket fee)
Onsale at eventim.de and all known advance booking offices: €39.58 per person (incl. ticket & advance booking fee)
Organizer: Tourismus- und Kur GmbH Graal-Müritz, Rostocker Str. 3, 18181 Graal-Müritz | Tel.: 038206 7030 | events.graal-mueritz.de
Photo Astoria Salon Orchestra: M. Schütt
