12.11.2007

jumpin jive

last night the lovely tangobaby & her beau treated me to viewing some of the most amazing dance clips ever filmed in history on their 10' movie screen home theater system ~ the audition performance of rudolf nureyev that gave him an open ride into both the bolshoi & the kirov ballet companies, bo jangles' soft shoe brilliance and the nicholas brothers in one of their most famous performances in stormy weather. it's valuable to know before watching the clip below that many performance greats such as mikhail baryshnikov, fred astaire, gregory hines, michael & janet jackson consider the nicholas brothers the greatest dancers/performers in history. it's widely agreed that if their biography was ever filmed, their dance numbers would have to be computer generated because no one could duplicate them.

here they are with cab calloway in this incredible performance in the 1943 movie stormy weather:

btw ~ neither of them have any formal dance training ~ they learned their skills by growing up around vaudeville

7 comments:

tangobaby said...

Hooray! I'm glad we're both doing our part to spread the word about the Nicholas Brothers to a younger generation. I know my mom and grandparents know who they were, but so many people who are younger have never heard of the Nicholas Brothers, and that makes me sad. People that talented should not be forgotten.

I'll never get tired of watching them in that clip from Stormy Weather. But what's even more fun is watching it with someone who's never seen it before, because it's so wonderful.

And I'm so happy you found that Nureyev clip on youtube. Our world has been filled with so many amazingly talented people.

studio wellspring said...

thanks for continually improving my quality of life, tangobaby!

AlexTangoFuego said...

one word..."amazing"...

9010 said...

I have always been partial to Nureyev, but they are all joyous. Thanks for sharing the clips!

studio wellspring said...

welcome alex ~ so nice to hear from you. i really enjoy your blog. yes their dancing is amazing....every time i see another number i'm more impressed.

teri ~ nureyev is the original ballet superstar but it's baryshnikov who captured my heart. ;o)

j said...

omg, you were right! i am hooked! must see more.

studio wellspring said...

j ~ look for "down argentine way". pretty fabulous too!