102 y/o Dancer Sees Herself on Film for the First Time

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 3:27pm

Posted by YouTube poster Tenfresh, who says:

Alice Barker was a chorus line dancer during the Harlem Renaissance of the the 1930s and 40s. She danced at clubs such as The Apollo, Cotton Club, and Zanzibar Club, with legends including Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

Although she danced in numerous movies, commercials and TV shows, she had never seen any of them, and all of her photographs and memorabilia have been lost over the years.

With the help of Mark Cantor of http://jazz-on-film.com we finally our hands on three "Soundies" Alice appeared in, and were able to show them to her for the very first time. She had never seen herself in motion in her life

If you'd like to send Alice fan mail we would love to see her get the adoration she deserves after so many years! (We'll do our best to read some of your comments to her as well.):

Alice Barker
c/o Bishop Henry B. Hucles Episcopal Nursing Home
835 Herkimer Street
Brooklyn, NY11233

For more info about the dancers of the Harlem Renaissance, we recommend the lovely documentary "Been Rich All My Life" —several of the women in the film danced with Alice back in the day!

 

 

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 3:50pm

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 7:08pm

was a treasure. She seemed truly happy to see these. I could probably listen to her stories for hours.

[Curious3]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 8:21pm

This is a first rate posting. Thanks, so nice to see something really positive on this BB.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 11:27pm

I've watched this three times today. I love this woman, Alice Barker. I'm sending her a card tomorrow

[starcatchers]

Posted: 4/22/15 at 11:55pm

Thanks so much for posting that. Think I'll send her a card as well. :)

[Judith84]

Posted: 4/23/15 at 12:21am

Thank you for sharing! I'll send her a letter too!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/23/15 at 8:27am

Keep those cards and letters coming in.