The incredible Nicholas Brothers: A classic Hollywood Black dance duo everyone should be obsessed with

"They are your favorite dancers' favorite dancers."

That's what Nicole Nicholas, granddaughter of Black dance legends, the Nicholas Brothers, has to say about the dynamic duo of Fayard and Harold Nicholas. "Even if people do not know them, the people that they do know were admirers of them and of their work," she explains. "And if you see them and you see any of their films, you'll never forget."

The Nicholas Brothers rose to fame on the jazz circuit during the Harlem Renaissance, ultimately going on to perform all over the world and in Hollywood films. Renowned for their highly acrobatic dance techniques and tap style, they're best remembered for their musical number "Jumpin' Jive," which concludes 1943's Stormy Weather.

It's this number which is featured in the Stars and Icons section of the Academy Museum's exhibit, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1878-1971. The exhibit unearths the talents and contributions of early Black film pioneers, including those who rose to Hollywood stardom like Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, and the Nicholas Brothers.

It's fitting that the Stormy Weather routine takes center stage (alongside a pair of the brothers' tap shoes and a reel of their home movies), as its eye-popping climax, in which the brothers do the splits repeatedly down a flight of stairs and leap-frog each other, is truly unparalleled.

"The Stormy Weather routine is the greatest dance routine ever put on film," says Tony Nicholas, son of Fayard. "That's just not me saying that, but Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Gregory Hines. They all agreed that this is without a doubt the greatest dance routine ever put on film."

The number itself is astounding no matter what, but Tony also notes that the number was done in an unrehearsed single take. There's some dispute over this claim. Fayard himself maintained that it was done in one take, while historians have noted that the claim likely only refers to the climactic split sequence (in and of itself an amazing feat) because there are cuts, changes in camera angle, and other aspects of the sequence that suggest more than one take was used in the final edit.

"The camera was set up on the stage and they knew what they were going to do and they had no rehearsal," says Tony. "The routine was done in one take, and they had the cameras positioned. The first part of the routine they dance in front of Cab Calloway's orchestra, and then when they moved over to the stairs, there was a camera that was set up there to get the Nicholas Brothers going up the steps and then coming down in those splits."

It seems wild that this was performed with no rehearsal, but that was a frequent tactic of the Nicholas Brothers. "What Fayard would say was that even though they didn't rehearse it, they could see it," says Nicole Nicholas. "They could visualize it, so when they were talking about it, they could see it so clearly in their minds. They knew what they would need to do when it was 'action,' and then they seamlessly executed it when it was time."

Tony defines the number as the Nicholas Brothers' signature piece (it's so well-loved that it's used frequently in the art promoting Regeneration). The number was a result of their continued attempts to outdo themselves each time they appeared on screen. The splits sequence gets particular notice for the ways in which it seems to defy physical possibility.

Tony laughs, relating how many people have jokingly questioned his identity as Fayard's son because viewers often say: "After seeing them do that routine and coming down those steps, I don't believe the Nicholas Brothers could have children."

Astute viewers of the film will also note that it's the "Jumpin' Jive" routine that closes the film. Tony suggests it's because everyone knew there was no topping the Nicholas Brothers' performance. Indeed, Tony says that Fanny Brice herself once asked to have her number moved up in a Ziegfeld Follies show so that she didn't have to follow the brothers.

While the exhibit and the world more broadly might pay special attention to the Stormy Weather number, both Tony and Nicole hope that Regeneration paves the way for the Nicholas Brothers to be recognized for all of their achievements.

"The Nicholas Brothers would say that they did everything in show business except opera," says Nicole. "They did comedies. They did impressions. They did Broadway. They did movies. They did TV. They did live theater. Harold spoke over five languages. They were extremely versatile artists. Stormy Weather captures a bit of their genius in their artistry, but as artists they were certainly much broader than that."

The family worked closely with the curators of the exhibit, Doris Berger and Rhea L. Combs, to determine what they would share from their personal collection. This also led to the collection of Nicholas Brothers home movies being digitized for posterity. "They were such great partners in digitizing those home movies for us and taking what were film reels at home and turning them into something that can be shared with people over and over again," gushes Nicole. "They are now part of the Library of Congress. We had footage of the Nicholas Brothers from over the decades all over the world. That is now part of history."

The family plans to add additional assets to the exhibition in the future, for both its run in Los Angeles and a future engagement in Detroit (and there are plans to potentially discuss permanently adding some items to the Academy Museum collection in the future). "It is exciting that in their first year they are including this exhibit and that they have prioritized telling the story of Black artistry itself as this museum opens up to the city, the state, the world," says Nicole. "It's really special that they're doing this in their first year of existing."

Both Nicole and Tony celebrate the exhibit's ability to contextualize the Nicholas Brothers as dancers who were in a league of their own, not in spite of, but because they were Black artists. Dancer and choreographer Gregory Hines once quipped that any potential biopic of the duo would have to feature computer-generated dancing because no one can replicate their skill. But it's this skill on top of the obstacles they faced that truly set them apart.

"The Nicholas Brothers always show up with class. style, and grace after having to endure the racism that their peers, like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, did not have to endure," reflects Nicole. "Their peers didn't have to not stay at the venue they were performing in. They didn't have to go in the back door of the venue they were performing in. But they look first class — smiling and entertaining in spite of everything."

It's that truth, more than the astounding feat of executing a miraculous dance number in one take, that the family hopes Regeneration and the efforts of organizations like the Academy Museum will forward.

"The family's hope is that they are mentioned in the same breath as some of their contemporaries," reflects Nicole.

Adds Tony: "Regeneration is opening up the whole idea of the Nicholas Brothers. They incorporated everything in their dance — they did ballet, jazz, hip-hop, everything. I feel this from the bottom of my heart — they should be considered the greatest dancers that ever lived."

Regeneration is now open at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles through April 9, 2023.

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