Alice Barker was a chorus dancer during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s and 40s.
She danced with legends including Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, at famous venues such as The Apollo, the Cotton Club, and the Zanzibar Club.
Despite appearing in numerous films, ads, TV shows and ‘shorties’ (musical short films), at 102-years-old, she had never seen footage of herself dancing. And all her photos and memorabilia had been lost over the years.
But, thanks to footage unearthed by Mark Cantor of Jazz on Film, she was finally able to watch herself shimmying on stage.
Watching the film, Alice (nicknamed Chicken Little for her love of fried chicken), can be seen tapping along to the music (she’s on the right below).
After immediately asking to watch the footage for a second time, she says that it’s ‘making me wish I could get out of bed and do it all over again.’
Alice’s reaction to seeing herself dancing 80 years ago in her twenties has now been viewed almost 400,000 times.
She is so cute!
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