In Fall 2020, I embarked on a collaboration with filmmaker and director Denise Ward-Brown to create Seeking Josephine Baker: Dancing on the Land. We shared a passion for the world-famous performer and activist Josephine Baker, who was born in St. Louis in 1906. We co-created a dance film for WashU Dance Theatre that focused on Baker’s relationship to the city. While Ms. Baker was a brilliant innovator, she did not emerge sui generis; she grew up immersed in a cultural world. Who were the Black St. Louisans who created this vibrant culture of her childhood? While scholars note St. Louis’ contributions to jazz music, the literature falls silent when it comes to dance— even though dance and music developed together. Through dance, we aimed to reanimate sites of Ms. Baker’s childhood that remain unmarked.Here pictured are two of our student dancers at an Ameren Electric storage facility, on the block where Ms. Baker lived as a child.