It’s been more than seven decades since this truly remarkable dance scene was captured on film, and the astonishing thing is that the routine becomes even more impressive when you learn the history behind it.
The scene was filmed for the 1943 film Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne and Bill Robinson.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
In it, the Nicholas brothers, Harold and Fayard, danced acrobatically to Cab Calloway’s song, Jumpin’ Jive. What’s really incredible about the scene is that the brothers did it in one take, unrehearsed.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Fred Astaire called the scene “the greatest dancing he had ever seen on film.” Stormy Weather was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2001 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Here’s the full video of the incredible dance routine.
I’d like to see anyone else pull that off in one take, unrehearsed. Not gonna happen…
