In the 1930s and 1940s, Alice Barker appeared in dozens of movies dancing alongside the likes of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
A chorus line dancer during the Harlem Renaissance, many of Barker’s performances were actually captured on film, but she’d never actually seen them. Until now.
With the help of Mark Cantor of jazz-on-film.com, which collects and archives old jazz footage, the 102-old woman was able to revisit parts of her glorious youth through the magic of technology.
After meeting Barker and hearing her story, Cantor got his hand on three “Soundies,” that she appeared in.
He visited Barker twice in her Brooklyn nursing home.
What followed was amazing.
Laying in a hospital bed, she seems mesmerized by the videos, even asking to watch them again. She snaps her fingers and sings along. She mentions the title of one, “Sepia Steppers,” she says.
When asked what she thinks of the chance to see herself in her heyday, her response is sad and sweet all at once.
“This is making me wish that I could get out of this bed and do it all over again,” Barker said.
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