Jeni LeGon - Living in a Great Big Way

Meet Jeni LeGon--a talented and passionate dancer who became the first Black woman to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. A warm and vibrant storyteller, she reflects on her 82 years of life, sharing her dreams and struggles. Jeni grew up in Chicago, where she taught herself to dance, gathering her early audiences around her on the sidewalks that were her first stage. She becme a solo dancer in the Count Basie Chorus Line and set her sights for Hollywood. There she landed a role with Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson in Hurray for Love, followed by over a dozen other films. But with all her talent, Jeni LeGon could not break through the colour barrier of a segregated Hollywood.

In the late 1960s, Jeni made Vancouver her home and became a teacher and choreographer. The film includes interviews with tap dancer Fayard Nicholas and archival footage of Fayard and Harold Nicholas, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Fats Waller, Paul Robeson and Cab Calloway.