The Baby Laurence Legacy Project is an archival/performative process to create an integrated work of jazz tap dance and jazz music that investigates and celebrates the artistic and social influences that “Baby Laurence” Donald Jackson had on the culture of Tap Dance and Jazz Music. This project aims to capture and demystify lost information about this iconic tap dancer from Baltimore, MD. It will include new research from interviews, archival film, documentation tracing the footsteps of Baby Laurence in Baltimore, Harlem, and Washington D.C., and curricula for students and educators. Brinae Ali will present choreography, compositions, and multi-media in collaboration with fellow band members of the Baltimore Jazz Collective. This new work will culminate in an evening length performance, offer workshops and discussions to engage, educate, and uplift audiences, especially the African American community in Baltimore and beyond.

This project is supported by a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts and Johns Hopkins University’s Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts.