You won’t believe the emotions on display in this unforgettable moment when a 102-year-old dancer saw her younger self perform on film for the first time. Alice Barker was a chorus dancer during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s, and she had some serious moves! Barker’s friends managed to find several soundies that showed her dancing in her heyday in the 1930s and 1940s, and we here at The Music Man are very grateful to share them with you!
The discovery of the footage led to a very beautiful moment when Barker was able to see herself on film for the first time, as she had never had the chance before. The footage went mega viral, attracting 40 million views on YouTube. Barker has such an adorable personality that shines through in both the footage from the 1930s and the modern footage. Her dance moves are so joyful and natural – it’s clear that she has an enormous natural talent for dancing and performance.
There are several great moments in the interview with Barker. Her friends ask her about her rumored nickname back in the day, Chicken Little. Barker confirmed that this adorbs nickname was given to her as every time her friends went out to eat, she chirped up and said she wanted chicken! She also had some great one-liners, such as “Don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”
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Barker really lit up when she saw the footage, and eagerly tapped along as she watched in bed. You can tell that if she was a bit more spry, she would have been up and dancing like old times. The footage was showcased on the YouTube channel Tenfresh. Community volunteer David Shuff and recreation therapist Gail Campbell made the effort to uncover the soundies that showcased her dancing. Tenfresh later uploaded a video showing five full-length soundies that feature Barker’s dancing.
The video showing Barker’s reaction to her dances was uploaded on April 21, 2015. The popularity of the video led to renewed interest in her performances and led to the creation of a musical about her life, titled Hidden in Plain Sight: The Story of Alice Barker.
Barker later passed away peacefully on April 6, 2016. She was able to live to see the huge reaction to her video and received thousands of cards, art, and flowers from well-wishers, which her friends said “gave her deep joy and meaning in the last year of her life!”