Renaissance Women: Anise Boyer

Anise Boyer (1914–2008) was an American dancer and actress during the Harlem Renaissance. She joined the Cotton Club chorus line when she was just a teenager. In 1932, she starred in the film Harlem is Heaven.

For Further Reading:

• Anise Boyer
• Jazz & Blues: What Was the Legendary Cotton Club?
• Harlem is Heaven (1932)

This Black History Month, we’re talking about Renaissance Women. As part of the famed cultural and artistic Harlem Renaissance movement, these women found beauty in an often ugly world.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, and Vanessa Handy. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, I'm Vanessa Handy. I'm a producer here at Wonder
Media Network, and I'm so excited to be guest hosting
this week's episodes of Womanica. This Black History Month, we're
talking about Renaissance women as part of the famed cultural
and artistic Harlem Renaissance movement. These women found beauty in
an often ugly world. Today, we're talking about a woman

(00:25):
who danced her way into the hottest clubs of Harlem.
Please welcome a Nice Boyer. Anie Boyer was born in
Florida on April fifteenth, nineteen fourteen. When it came to dancing,
she was something of a prodigy. By the time she
was eight years old, she was already dancing in reviews,

(00:49):
and by nineteen twenty four she had won her first
talent competition. After high school, Anise attended Hunter College in
New York City, just a hop, skip and a jump
away from the busing neighborhood of Harlem, and in nineteen
twenty eight she joined the courus lines of Harlem's hottest spot,
the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club has a rich and

(01:14):
complex history. Originally established in the nineteen twenties, the mobster
who owned it illegally sold alcohol during the Prohibition era.
He hoped the police wouldn't catch on if he was
running a business in a primarily black neighborhood. The club
was segregated, with entirely white clientele and exclusively black performers.

(01:35):
The white club owners designed the Cotton Club after Southern
plantations and instructed the musicians to play with a jungle sound.
They hoped this exoticism would draw in white, middle class audiences.
But even if people came for the let's call it
performative racism, they came back for the great music. Because

(01:58):
the Cotton Club is considered the birthplace of modern jazz
and blues. The House Orchestra was led by Duke Ellington
for some years, and the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Holliday,
and Louis Armstrong performed there. Over the course of the
nineteen twenties and thirties, the Cotton Club grew from an
underground venue to a space with worldwide renown. Anise was

(02:23):
one of the talents who made the Cotton Club such
a mecca of legendary performances. Even when dancing in synchronization
with her fellow girls, Anisee stood out from the crowd.
In nineteen thirty one, an article in the Pittsburgh Courier
referred to her as Harlem's most charming juvenile dancer, and
newspaper columnist Walter Winchell called her the prettiest dancer at

(02:46):
the club. In nineteen thirty two, Aniese made her first
film appearance in Harlem Is Heaven. The film follows the
goings on of the director and star of a Harlem
dance troupe, played by Bill Bojangles Robinson. A niece played Jean,
an unemployed actress and dancer from the South looking for
work in the big city. Yes, but Johnson can't cut

(03:08):
me a solid. Why doesn't he step up? Take a flame?
The Pittsburgh Courier showered a Nise with more praise, writing
quote her talent and ability is instantly recognized the moment
she makes her appearance. In the late nineteen thirties, Anise
switched out the chorus line for a duo act. She

(03:30):
joined forces with Alan Dixon. Together they were called a
Niece and Alone, and they could do any type of
dance you'd want, from tap to ballroom to swing to
jazz dancing. They were known in particular as skilled adaggio dancers,
which is like ballroom dancing but with lifts and spins.

(03:50):
In nineteen forty two, a niece and Alan got married
just before he was drafted into military service. After that,
Anissa's starr started to dim shed ns with other male
partners and reviews around Los Angeles, but she didn't receive
the same level of success. She briefly danced with Archie Savage,
but their partnership ended when he was sent to prison
for stealing from singer and actress Ethel Waters. Anise also

(04:14):
made a couple uncredited appearances in the films Stormy Weather
and Carolina Blues. A niece was a light skinned black woman.
As such, her agent tried to convince her to pass
as white in order to get more work, but a
niece refused. While passing as white may have offered her
more career opportunities, it also would have meant leaving her family, friends, community,

(04:38):
and sense of identity behind. In nineteen forty six, Aniee's
career took a pivot when she began working at the
Los Angeles office of attorney Walter L. Gordon Junior. In
nineteen forty eight, she made one last film appearance in
Lookout Sister. After that, she retired from the entertainment industry.

(05:00):
Anise was an avid golfer and a charter member of
the Las Vernondale Golf Club, a club for black women.
She was the organization's president in nineteen forty nine. On
October tenth, two thousand and eight, a niece passed away.
All month We're talking about renaissance women. For more information,

(05:21):
find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica Podcast Special
Thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for having me as
a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow.