When 102-year-old Alice Barker strutted in the chorus line during the '30s and '40s, personal video was something only found in people's dreams.
Fortunately, with the help of David Shuff and Mark Cantor of Jazz on Film, Barker was finally able to see her younger self dance for the first time.
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Shuff, who owns a therapy dog, told Mashable that he had met Barker years ago while visiting her nursing home with his pup. Everyone at the nursing home knew that Barker had been a famous dancer, sharing the stage with the likes of Frank Sinatra, but all of her memorabilia had been lost.
A worker at the nursing home attempted to find Barker's old films -- which were called "soundies" back then -- but had no luck. After a long search, Shuff was connected with Cantor, who has a stockpile of these old soundies -- basically some of the earliest music videos.
Once a misspelling of Barker's last name was sorted out, Cantor and Shuff discovered that they did have videos of Barker dancing, and they shared the footage at her nursing home.
After a watching a few videos, Barker got right back into the swing of things.
"How did it feel seeing yourself?" one woman asks Barker. "Making me wish I could get out of this bed and do it all over again," Baker responds.
In the Reddit thread where Shuff (username Tenfresh) originally shared Barker's story, he said that he left the videos with Barker so she could watch them anytime she wants.
Comment from discussion 102 y/o Dancer Sees Herself on Film for the First Time.
For anyone looking to send Barker fan mail, she can be reached at the following address:
Alice Barker
c/o Bishop Henry B. Hucles Episcopal Nursing Home
835 Herkimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11233