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Sarasota, FL - Shirley Lillian Cohen Goodman passed away peacefully at her home in Sarasota, Florida on December 9, 2025, with her grandson Seth by her side. She was 102.

Shirley was born to Jenny Olshein Cohen and Frank Cohen on March 14, 1923 in Troy, NY.  She was the devoted wife of Alfred L. Goodman for 52 years, until his passing in 1995.

Having inherited a gift for dancing from her vaudevillian father, Shirley showed talent at an early age and earned free lessons from instructor Amy Congdon, assisting with her students until opening her own dance studio in Troy at age 17. In her youth, Shirley won the opportunity to demonstrate her dancing talent on radio, tapping on Major Bowe’s Amateur Hour in New York City in 1938. Shirley’s dance studio operated until her marriage to Al Goodman in 1943, just as he joined the Army Air Corps in World War II.

Shirley was a lifetime member of Hadassah and B’nai B’rith women, and also sang with Sweet Adeline’s barbershop chorus group for many years, performing in competitions and concerts around the area. Shirley volunteered her tap-teaching skills to encourage movement with the patients at Ellis Hospital’s psychiatric ward and sat with other volunteers to sew cancer bandages. Shirl also assisted in directing community shows put on by her synagogue, Congregation Agudat Achim, penning parodies and choreographing musical numbers, and she recruited her children to perform for benefits and shows in the region.

When Al retired they moved to Florida, and while Al focused on his golf game, Shirley applied her tapping and movement skills, leading line dance classes for a number of groups in Sarasota. She attended one or two events every day, leading classes or tapping with the jazz bands at Pelican Cove and the Senior Friendship Center. Shirley demonstrated to her audiences that feet can also be a rhythm instrument.

Late in life, Shirley became an international celebrity, thanks to the efforts of her grandchildren (and grandnephew Ethan Cohen), who spread her renown through the miracle of the internet. After a video of Shirley dancing at Ethan’s wedding received hundreds of millions of views across social platforms like YouTube and Instagram, “The Dancing Nana,” as she came to be known, was invited at age 96 to appear with her family on Good Morning America, and was named their entertainer of the year. When Shirl turned 102, Al Roker traveled to Sarasota to interview and dance with her for a segment on the Today show.

In her later years, Shirley said that her favorite thing was having people come up to her after she danced to say “You are such an inspiration!” Responding to the many times she was asked, Shirley always attributed her longevity and vitality to three things:  “Keep moving, have a positive attitude – and eat chocolate.”

In addition to many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins, Shirley is survived by her four children: Steven (Linda) Goodman, Joan Goodman, Robert (Sarah) Goodman, and James Goodman, and her 10 grandchildren: Seth, Todd, Lisa; Joel, Miriam, Kayla; Deena, Daniel, Sam; and Avram, as well as her 10 great grandchildren: Jonah, Micah, Atara, David, Jacob, Zoe; Judah, Emuna, Liam, and Lila. Shirley was predeceased by her husband Alfred L. Goodman, sister Beatrice Cohen (Leon) Greenstein of Troy, NY and Philadelphia, and brother Norman (Emily) Cohen of Troy, NY.

Shirley and Al generously gave their time and resources to many causes during their lifetime. Those wishing to remember Shirley can make memorial contributions in her name to their favorite charity or to Daughters of Sarah Jewish Foundation (daughtersofsarah.org) or The Hunger Project (thp.org). Other than that – don’t forget to get up and dance.

Funeral services for Shirley will be held on Sunday December 14th at 11:00 am at The Levine Memorial Chapel (649 Washington Ave in Albany) followed by interment at Congregation Agudat Achim Cemetery in Rotterdam, NY. The funeral will be livestreamed and can be viewed with the following link: 

 

Shiva Information:

Sunday 12/14:  Shiva from 3-9pm, with service at 7pm, at the home of Janis Cohen.

Monday-Thursday, 12/15-12/18:  Shiva from 5-9pm, with service at 7pm, at the home of Joan Goodman