Gooder Than Hell!

Unbelievable stuff. These guys, along with Gene Kelly and Jackie Chan, make me wish I was a good dancer and more acrobatic. Alas, I am not.

If you’ve never seen this clip before, man are you in for a treat. The 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” featured 20 musical numbers in a mere 77 minutes – and one of them was this astonishing piece featuring Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers, which still might be the best tap-dancing routine ever filmed.

About the brothers, from their estate web site:

The Nicholas Brothers grew up in Philadelphia, the sons of musicians who played in their own band at the old Standard Theater, their mother at the piano and father on drums. At the age of three, Fayard was always seated in the front row while his parents worked, and by the time he was ten, he had seen most of the great black Vaudeville acts, particularly the dancers, including such notables of the time as Alice Whitman, Willie Bryant and Bill Robinson. He was completely fascinated by them and imitated their acrobatics and clowning for the kids in his neighborhood. Harold watched and imitated Fayard until he was able to dance too, then apparently, he worked his own ideas into mimicry. (continue)