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75 Years Ago, One of the Best Dance Routines Ever Was Filmed, Unrehearsed on the First Take

originalwharris

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Fred Astaire said it was ‘the greatest dancing he had ever seen on film’. In a dance performance for the ages, the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), dazzled audiences with their acrobatic routine to Cab Calloway’s hit song, Jumpin’ Jive. Not only that, but the routine was unrehearsed and what you see was the first take! [source]

The performance was from the 1943 musical film, Stormy Weather. In 2001, Stormy Weather was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

For a great summary of the Nicholas Brothers’ style and impact on dance, check out this NYT article.

75 Years Ago, One of the Best Dance Routines Ever Was Filmed, Unrehearsed on the First Take
 

Hygge Chic

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Thanks so much for sharing this!! "Stormy Weather" is on my long list of movies to watch; seeing this bumped it up a few notches lol
 

Elisa Maza

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This was amazing! & this:

17f5f9598c39eaac42aaff868e37116d.jpg
 

NambyPamby

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My dad showed me this when I was a little girl. It was on tv for some kind of special or marathon. I was in awe then and still in awe today. Love the Nicholas brothers. Harold was funny as hell in the five heartbeats
 

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wowwwww that is so amazing! those jump splits were crazy esp after all of the dancing they had already done up to that point! lol
 

AlexDeLuca

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As a former dancer (I wasn't classically trained, but my style was based around modern, contemporary, and hip-hop), it's sequences and choreography like this that makes me wanna get back into it. I can see how Bob Fosse may have been inspired by this. A lot of his choreography seems to be inspired by this performance.

I also see how Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were inspired. I also see a lot Michael Jackson, Savion Glover, and Gregory Hines as well. You can definitely tell they were influenced by this.

Thank you so much for sharing because I got goosebumps seeing the eloquence and excellence of the Nicholas Brothers for the very first time. Now I got some researching to do...
 

GrtGzu

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OMG!!! I JUST watched this movie the other morning on the Movies! channel, and was remember this scene quite well...

They had that sh!t "SWANGIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the sistu-guhls in the Zoot Suits blew me away too!!
 

almath

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Beautiful!!
How Cab exited the stage at 1:43, that's my new exit everywhere..[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
 

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Phenomenal! But chile my hips, knees and ankles hurt just looking at all those jumps and splits.
 

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