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

MorningLover · ‎10-04-2015

Found this on youtube and wanted to share it...

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, The Zanzibar Club, and on Broadway 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 had been lost over the years.

After years of searching, friends found three "Soundies" Alice appeared in and were finally able to show them to her, she had never seen herself in motion in her life!

"It makes me wish I could get up out of this bed and do it all over again," she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bktozJWbLQg

Alice died in April 2016, and spent her last days listening to music and having the cards and letters she received, read to her.

SandySparkles · ‎06-13-2010

What a wonderful story! It brought tears to my eyes. She had an amazing life and in a sweet way was called "home" surrounded by things she loved. That is such a tender blessing!

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

What an amazing piece of film you found, @MorningLover! Extraordinary and moving!

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

@MorningLover -

thanks for posting such a sweet story.

I had to go find her and here she is-

Related image

Image result for alice barker

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

Vivian · ‎03-11-2010

Wonderful! I've danced all my life. At 72, I still go to dance class three times a week. I so enjoyed watching Alice Barker and seeing her dance way back when.