The 1943 American musical film Stormy Weather is considered to be one of the best classic Hollywood musicals.
It is important because it came out during an era when Black actors and singers rarely appeared in lead roles in Hollywood productions.
In the movie, the “Jumpin’ Jive” routine still holds up as one of the best dance sequences in a movie musical of all time!
For his part, Fred Astaire said it was “the greatest movie musical sequence [he had] ever seen.”
Aside from the incredible dancing, the clip also features Cab Calloway and his orchestra.
The song “Jumpin’ Jive” was originally written by Cab Calloway, Frank Froeba and Jack Palmer, and it was released in 1939. What makes this video so special is that the Nicholas Brothers appear in it as a dancing duo whose feet display the power of jazz in all its glory.
Cab Calloway, an American jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor, made the right choice when he invited the talented brothers to perform with him!
For those who don’t know, the Nicholas Brothers never had any formal dance training.
Fayard and Harold Nicholas grew up in Philadelphia, surrounded by vaudeville acts as children, which left a great impression on them.
Their parents were college-educated musicians who played in their band at the Standard Theater. Fayard, the oldest son, taught himself how to dance. After that, he shared those skills with his younger siblings, Dorothy and Harold.
At first they performed as the Nicholas Kids, but after Dorothy dropped out, the brothers went on performing by the stage name Nicholas Brothers.
Word of their talents spread quickly, and soon they were completely booked. Famous for their highly acrobatic technique known as the “flash dancing,” the talented brothers performed everywhere! They even gave a royal command performance for King George VI at the London Palladium in 1948.
They also danced for nine different presidents of the United States.
The duo received numerous awards and were celebrated for the high level of artistry and daring innovations in their performances.
Their leapfrog down the stars will leave you speechless!
Throughout the clip, we love how elegantly dressed everyone is.
As soon as the Nicholas Brothers step on stage, they practically look like they’re escaping gravity—the way they dance is completely surreal!
Gregory Hines once said that if anyone ever made a biography of the Nicholas Brothers, all their dance routines would have to be computer-generated because no one would be able to dance like that today!
After seeing this video, we completely agree—our jaws dropped when they did a leapfrog down the stairs.
They jump over each other and complete each jump with a split on the next stair—it’s unbelievable!
As it turns out, Michael Jackson was even one of their dance students.
Debbie Allen, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson were some of their known students from the times when the Nicholas Brothers taught master classes in tap dance at Harvard University and Radcliffe College.
Ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov once called them “the most amazing dancers he had ever seen.” After learning all this, we’re definitely hoping that their biopic actually gets made someday! Until it happens, you can look up the film We Sing & We Dance to watch some of their highlight performances.
Watch this incredible dance clip by clicking the link below:
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