This is the moment a 102-year-old woman who used to dance with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly got to see herself shimmy and shake on film for the first time . Alice Barker snapped her fingers and sang along as videos of her routines as a chorus line dancer during the 1930s Harlem Renaissance played on the screen . Barker had danced at legendary clubs like the Apollo , Cotton Club and Zanzibar Club , and had appeared in movies commercials and television shows . This is the moment 102-year-old Alice Barker , who used to dance with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly , got to see herself shimmy and shake on film for the first time . Barker ( pictured far right in the video ) snapped her fingers and sang along as videos of her routines as a chorus line dancer during the 1930s Harlem Renaissance played on the screen . But she had never gotten the chance to watch herself dance . She did n't even have any photographs or memorabilia to remember her years on stage . It was David Shuff , who met Barker years ago when he brought his therapy dog to her retirement home , that finally reunited the one-time famous dancer with her videos . After a long and unsuccessful first search , Shuff connected with Mark Cantor , a collector of short musical films called 'soundies ' who runs the online archive Jazz on Film . It was then Shuff and Cantor discovered that Barker 's videos were filed under 'Baker ' , a misspelling of her name - which was why no one had been able to find them before , according to Mashable . They located three of Barker 's soundies , giving her the chance to finally watch her days in the chorus line , where she was almost always in the front row . 'Do n't mean a thing if it ai n't got that swing , ' Barker sang along as she watched one of her routines . When Shuff asked her how many years she danced , Barker replied 'that 's all I ever did , that was it ! ' She said said the videos made her wish she could get out of bed and 'do it all over again ' . Barker ( pictured right in the video ) had danced at legendary clubs like the Apollo , Cotton Club and Zanzibar Club , and had appeared in movies commercials and television shows . David Shuff , who met Barker years ago at her retirement home , and archivist Mark Cantor helped locate and reunite the one-time famous dancer with three of her 'soundies ' , known then as short musical videos . Barker found herself needing to dance and move to music at a young age . She told Shuff a story about when she was a child and her mother was preparing her for a bath . Her mother had gone to the house to retrieve something when a young Barker heard a band play nearby . 'When she came back I was gone , ' said Barker . ' I was down there naked just going , dancing . ' 'And then , if the band would stop playing , I 'd look at them and `` come on , let 's get it going , let 's get it going here . '' ' Barker said said the videos made her wish she could get out of bed and 'do it all over again ' But the most special part for Barker was getting to watch herself dance again . ' I used to often say to myself , I am being paid to do something that I enjoy doing and I would do it for free , ' she said . Shuff shared Barker 's story on Reddit , where he wrote that the videos were now in her possession and that they are often played in her retirement center 's communal room , noting that she 's a 'rock star these days ' . He added that Barker knows her videos are online now and that it made her happy because she 'feels connected to the world again ' . But the most special part for Barker was getting the chance to watch herself dance again . ' I used to often say to myself , I am being paid to do something that I enjoy doing and I would do it for free , ' she said . 'Because it just felt so good doing it , because that music , you know , I just get carried away in it . '
Alice Barker danced in legendary Apollo and Zanzibar clubs during the 1930s Harlem Renaissance , as well as movies , TV and commercials . But she had lost her old photographs with time , and no one could find her videos because of a misspelling of her name . David Shuff , who met Barker years ago , reunited her with some of her short musical films known then as 'soundies ' The videos now play in the common room of her retirement home , where Shuff says she is a 'rock star '