Willa Mae Ricker began swing dancing in the Savoy Ballroom with longtime friend Frankie Manning, whom she regularly partnered with.
[2] Throughout her career Willa Mae partnered with Frankie Manning, Snookie Beasley, Leon James, Al Minns, Russel Williams and others.
[3] In the late 1930s, Willa Mae married her high school sweetheart, and fellow Whitey's Lindy Hopper, Billy Ricker.
[5] During World War II, Ricker managed the Harlem Congaroos, a sub-group of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers formed from the premiere dancers.
During one of the groups annual summer-long gigs at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, Willa Mae had to have an emergency hysterectomy.