An American Jazz dancer hailing from the era of the 1930s and 40s has recently surged in popularity once more with a revival of interest in the genre.
“Who is Cab Calloway?”
That’s the question so many new jazz and musical film lovers have been asking lately.
Well, in addition to being a well-known dancer, he was also a singer and bandleader.
What can we say? The man wore many hats.
He’s known for “Minnie the Moocher”.
It is one of the tunes that he is now most remembered for, and he was known as the “Hi-de-ho” man.
In the last few years, a resurgence in popularity of a musical film of his version of St. James Infirmary rotoscoped over his dancing for the spooky Betty Boop film “The Old Man of the Mountain”.
You can see how they made it here.
So why has interest in Cab Calloway spiked some 80-plus years later?
Because he is incredible.
As a singer and dancer, he has a level of showmanship that is rare to be seen in performers today, and seeing him as a bandleader to boot is impressive beyond measure.
One amazing video that you just have to see to believe also showcases the even greater dancing talents of two men. The Nicholas Brothers.
Fayard and Harold were “flashdancers”.
Flashdancers were known for their acrobatic meets jazz tap style of dancing.
There’s a sequence with the stairs that will blow anyone’s mind.
Cab is leading the big band.
And wow, are they incredible.
Cab’s voice is amazing (he was the first African American singer to sell over a million copies of a single song).
Cab Calloway is a performer of the ages.
He is a showman in the truest sense of the word.
His scatting is unparalleled.
Then comes the impeccable tapping.
As they figuratively jump into a scat with Cab, they literally jump onto someone’s table to begin one of the most amazing dance routines of all time.
Nicholas Brothers leap table to table.
They’re tapping and dancing up an impossible storm along the way.
Leaping among the band members seated around the tables, they display an unprecedented level of skill and talent, which arguably (and some have argued) hasn’t been seen since.
Everything was filmed in one take.
Of course, the most remarkable thing about what these dancing brothers can do is their acrobatic splits.
Seeming to defy gravity, they leap many feet through the air, performing splits down giant staircases.
As a spectator, one watches this incredible feat with a sense of incredulity.
Are they really doing that?
In fact, Gregory Hines was quoted as saying that nobody would ever be able to dance like them again!
“If those folks in Hollywood ever do get it in their heads to make the life story of the Nicholas Brothers, the dance numbers would have to be computer-generated…It would be impossible to find two dancer/actors to play the two starring roles…There never was a dancer, tap or otherwise, who, upon seeing those ‘Nicholas Splits,’ didn’t question his or her very own eyes. Could it be? Did they really go down and come right back up sans hands?”- Gregory Hines
See these incredible performers push themselves to their limits in the video below!
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