The Unrehearsed Nicholas Brothers' Tapdance Routine Done In One Cut Still Continues To Impress Audiences 77 Years Later

Mar 05, 2020

People say that old is gold. Seven decades have passed since an unforgettable dance scene featuring the legendary Nicholas Brothers was filmed for a movie. Watching the movie becomes even more impressive when you learn the story behind the making of the dance.

This scene is the dance episode in the 1943 Stormy Weather movie with Lena Horne and Bill Robinson. In the scene, Harold and Fayard Nicholas dance to Cab Calloway's Jumpin' Jive. The most impressive fact about the dance is that the two brothers danced without previous rehearsal.

According to Fred Astaire, this scene is the greatest dance scene ever captured on film as per The New York Times.

Stormy Weather has been part of the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress since 2001 for its cultural, historical, and aesthetical significance.

In the dance, the musicians are playing the lively music that was popular at the time. In the middle of the song, the two brothers jump forth and begin dancing in time to the music, joining the lively rhythm and complementing each other's movements perfectly as if they have done this a thousand times.

Their dance is a perfect dialogue between the two of them and their movements meet at regular intervals to become a single dance. Then they acrobatically jump on the musician's tables together, perfectly switching between the surfaces.

They even go on stage together to perform a duo that is truly impressive with their uncommon twists, turns, and movements of hands.

Just a couple of small glances and sometimes none at all were enough for the two brothers to dance together a single dance. It was as though a dance for this particular music piece already existed and both of them were doing their best to tune into it.

You can watch the amazing dance performance in the video below:

What do you think about old dance movies like this one? Do you think that you can pull off this type of dance with one of your close friends or family members? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Pass this video on to your friends and family to show them something spectacular today!