The Nicholas Brothers were an entertainment act composed of brothers,

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...

(1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000), who excelled in a variety of dance techniques, primarily between the 1930s and 1950s. Best known for their unique interpretation of a highly

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

technique known as " flash dancing", they were also considered by many to be the greatest

tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

rs of their day, if not all time. Their virtuoso performance in the musical number "Jumping' Jive" (with

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

and his orchestra) featured in the 1943 movie '' Stormy Weather'' has been praised as one of the greatest dance routines ever captured on film. Growing up surrounded by

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

acts as children, they became stars of the jazz circuit during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

and performed on stage, film, and television well into the 2000s. Diminutive in size, they were appreciated for their artistry, innovation, and soaring leaps.

Early lives

Fayard Antonio Nicholas was born August 28, 1914, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, and Harold Lloyd Nicholas was born March 17, 1921, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, to Viola Harden (''maiden;'' 1893–1971), a pianist, and Ulysses Dominick Nicholas (1892–1935), a drummer. The Nicholas Brothers grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the sons of college-educated musicians who played in their own band at the Standard Theater. At the age of three, Fayard would always sit in the front row while his parents worked, and by the time he was ten, he had seen most of the great African-American

acts—particularly the dancers, including such notables of the time as Alice Whitman, Willie Bryant, and

Bill Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

."Biography"
. The Nicholas Brothers' official website. The brothers were fascinated by the combination of tap dancing and acrobatics. Fayard often imitated their acrobatics and clowning for the kids in his neighborhood. Neither Fayard nor Harold had any formal dance training. Fayard taught himself how to dance, sing, and perform by watching and imitating the professional entertainers on stage. He then taught his younger siblings, first performing with his sister Dorothy as ''the Nicholas Kids'', later joined by Harold. Harold idolized his older brother and learned by copying his moves and distinct style. Dorothy later opted out of the act, and the Nicholas Kids became known as ''the Nicholas Brothers''.

Career

As word spread of their talent, the Nicholas Brothers became known around Philadelphia. They were first hired for a radio program, ''The Horn and Hardart Kiddie Hour'', and then by other local theatres such as the Standard and the Pearl. When they were performing at the Pearl, the manager of The Lafayette, a New York vaudeville showcase, saw them and immediately wanted them to perform for his theater. The brothers moved to

in 1926 and gave their first performance at the Standard a few years later. In 1932, they became the featured act at

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

's Cotton Club when Harold was 11 and Fayard was 18. They astonished their mainly white audiences dancing to the jazz tempos of " Bugle Call Rag"; they were the only entertainers in the African-American cast allowed to mingle with white patrons. They performed at the Cotton Club for two years, working with the orchestras of

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing music, swing and rhythm and blues, rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, and Jimmy Lunceford. During this time, they made their uncredited movie debut, in the 1932 short '' Pie, Pie Blackbird'', featuring

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...

and his orchestra. The brothers attributed their success to their unique style of dancing - a hybrid of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

sometimes called "acrobatic dancing" or "flash dancing" - which was greatly in demand during this time. Producer

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

saw them at the Cotton Club and invited them to California to be a part of '' Kid Millions'' (1934), their first performances in a Hollywood movie. The brothers made their Broadway debut in the '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1936'' and also appeared in

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

's musical '' Babes in Arms'' in 1937. They impressed their choreographer,

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, who invited them to appear in ''Babes in Arms''. With Balanchine's training, they learned many new stunts. Their talent led many to presume they were trained ballet dancers. By 1940, they had moved to Hollywood and for several decades divided their time between movies, nightclubs, concerts, Broadway, television, and extensive tours of Latin America, Africa, and Europe. They toured England with a production of ''Blackbirds''. They gave a

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

at the London Paladium for King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in 1948. In 1991, the Nicholas Brothers received

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...

in recognition of their six decades of achievements. A year later, a documentary film, ''We Sing & We Dance'', celebrated their careers and included tributes from

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

, M.C. Hammer, and

Clarke Peters Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American actor, writer, and director, who has spent much of his adult life in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television ...

. In 1994, members of the cast of '' Hot Shoe Shuffle'' also paid them tribute.

Teaching

The Nicholas Brothers taught master classes in tap dance as teachers-in-residence at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and Radcliffe at Ruth Page Visiting Artists. Among their known students are

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. Several of today's master tap dancers have performed with or been taught by the brothers: Dianne Walker, Sam Weber, Lane Alexander, Mark Mendonca, Terry Brock, Colburn Kids Tap/L.A, Channing Cook Holmes, Chris Baker, Artis Brienzo, Chester Whitmore, Darlene Gist, Chris Scott, Tobius Tak, Carol Zee, and Steve Zee.

Style and moves

The brothers were particularly known for their expressive use of their hands and arms while dancing, particularly tap. One of their signature moves was to leapfrog down a long, broad flight of stairs, completing each step with a

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

. Its best remembered performance is in the finale of the movie '' Stormy Weather'' (1943). In that routine, the Nicholas Brothers leapt exuberantly across the orchestra's music stands and danced on the top of a grand piano in a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

act with the pianist, to the tune of " Jumpin' Jive".

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

once told the brothers that this dance number was the greatest number he had ever seen on film. Numerous articles have been written about this whole dance being filmed in one take and unrehearsed. As unbelievable as that sounds (there are multiple cuts in the scene, requiring two or more cameras), the Nicholas Brothers confirmed it in an interview shortly before their recognition at the 14th Annual Kennedy Center Honors. The choreographer,

Nick Castle Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween (1978 film), H ...

, said, "Just do it. Don`t rehearse it, just do it." And so it was done, unrehearsed and in one take, which relieved Harold Nicholas because he did not want to do the rigorous routine over and over all night. In another signature move, they would rise from a split without using their hands.

declared that if their biography were ever filmed, their dance numbers would have to be computer-generated because no one now could emulate them. Ballet legend

once called them the most amazing dancers he had ever seen in his life.

Personal lives

Fayard

Fayard married four times. His marriage to Geraldine Pate lasted from 1942 until their divorce in 1955.Gates, Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2008).
The African American National Biography
'. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 148. . That year, he married Mexican dancer Victoria Barron. As of May 1960, that marriage remained intact, with "Vicky" also working alongside Fayard professionally. He married Barbara January in 1967, the same year he converted to the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, and they remained together until her death in 1998. He married Katherine Hopkins in 2000. He died on January 24, 2006, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

contracted after a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. His memorial service, presided over by Mary Jean Valente of ''A Ceremony of the Heart'', was standing-room only and featured personal tributes, music, dance, and one last standing ovation. Two of Fayard's granddaughters dance as the "Nicholas Sisters" and have won awards for their performances.Century Ballroom Presents, 2nd Annual The Masters of Lindy Hop and Tap
/ref>

Harold

Harold was married three times."Fayard Nicholas of renowned Nicholas Brothers dancing duo dies"
'' Jet'', February 13, 2006. From 1942 to 1951, he was married to singer and actress

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Carmen Jones'' (1954). Dandridge had a ...

, with whom he had one child, Harolyn Nicholas, who was born with a severe

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

. In Paris, he had a son, Melih Nicholas, with his second wife Elayne Patronne. He lived on New York's

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

for twenty years with his third wife, producer and former Miss Sweden, Rigmor Alfredsson Newman. Harold died July 3, 2000, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

following minor surgery.

Filmography

According to a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' article on the brothers, "Because of racial prejudice, they appeared as guest artists, isolated from the plot, in many of their films. This was a strategy that allowed their scenes to be easily deleted for screening in the

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

-era South". *'' Pie, Pie Blackbird'' (1932) (short subject) (uncredited) *'' The Emperor Jones'' (1933) (Harold Nicholas) *''Syncopancy'' (1933) (short subject) (Harold Nicholas) *'' Kid Millions'' (1934) *''An All-Colored Vaudeville Show'' (1935) (short subject) *''

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

'' (1935) *'' The Big Broadcast of 1936'' (1935) *'' The Black Network'' (1936) (short subject) *'' My American Wife'' (1936) *'' Babes in Arms'' (1937) (Although the Nicholas Brothers were in the 1937 stage play, they were not in the movie, which came out in 1939) *''Calling All Stars'' (1937) *''My Son Is Guilty'' (1939) *''

Down Argentine Way ''Down Argentine Way'' is a 1940 American musical film made in Technicolor by Twentieth Century Fox. It made a star of Betty Grable in her first leading role for the studio although she had already appeared in 31 films, and it introduced America ...

'' (1940) *''

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

'' (1940) *'' The Great American Broadcast'' (1941) *''

Sun Valley Serenade ''Sun Valley Serenade'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nichol ...

'' (1941) *'' Orchestra Wives'' (1942) *'' Stormy Weather'' (1943) *'' Take It or Leave It'' (1944) *''The Reckless Age'' (1944) (Harold Nicholas) *''Carolina Blues'' (1944) (Harold Nicholas) *''Dixieland Jamboree'' (1946) (short subject) *'' The Pirate'' (1948) *''Pathe Newsreel'' (1948) *'' I'm in the Revue'' (1950) *''El Misterio del carro express'' (1953) *''El Mensaje de la muerte'' (1953) *''Musik im Blut'' (1955) *''Bonjour Kathrin'' (1956) *''L'Empire de la nuit'' (1963) (Harold Nicholas) *''The Liberation of L.B. Jones'' (1970) (Fayard Nicholas) *''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974) (Harold Nicholas) *''

That's Entertainment! ''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and ...

'' (1974) (archive footage) *'' Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?'' (1975) (archive footage) *''Disco 9000'' (1976) (Harold Nicholas) *''

That's Dancing! ''That's Dancing!'' is a 1985 American compilation film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that looked back at the history of dancing in film. Unlike the '' That's Entertainment!'' series, this film not only focuses specifically on MGM films, but ...

'' (1985) (archive footage) *'' Tap'' (1989) (Harold Nicholas) *''That's Black Entertainment'' (1990) (archive footage) *'' The Five Heartbeats'' (1990) (Harold Nicholas) * "Alright" (Janet Jackson song) and video (1990) *''The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance'' (1992) *''Funny Bones'' (1995) (Harold Nicholas) *''I Used to Be in Pictures'' (2000) *''Night at the Golden Eagle'' (2002) (Fayard Nicholas) *''Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'' (2003) *''Hard Four'' (2005)

Awards and honors

* Harold received the DEA Award from the Dance Educators of America "Awards & Honors"
, Nicholas Brothers website. - Fayard and Harold Nicholas biography * Harold received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award (Best Principal Performance, Stompin' at the Savoy) * Harold received the Harbor Performing Arts Center Lifetime Achievement Award * An

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

was awarded to both brothers * Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (1978) * Ellie Award (1984), National Film Society for both brothers * Apollo Theater's Hall of Fame (1986), First Class Inductees for both brothers * ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' Lifetime Achievement Award (1987) for both brothers * Fayard Nicholas received Broadway's 1989 Tony Award for Best Choreographer for ''Black and Blue'' along with his collaborators

Cholly Atkins Charles "Cholly" Atkins (born Charles Sylvan Atkinson; September 13, 1913 – April 19, 2003) was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the label Motown. Biogr ...

, Henry LeTang, and

Frankie Manning Frank Manning (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009) was an American dancer, instructor, and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founders of Lindy Hop, an energetic form of the jazz dance style known as swing. Biography Manning was b ...

. * Scripps American Dance Festival Award *

in 1991 for both brothers who were in attendance * The National Black Media Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award (1992) * Flo-Bert Award (1992) * New York's Tap Dance Committee, Gypsy Award (1994) * A star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 7083 Hollywood Blvd (1994) * Professional Dancer's Society, ''Dance Magazine'' Award of (1995) * The 1998 Samuel H. Scripps

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

Award for Lifetime Achievement in Modern Dance * National Museum of Dance Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame Inductees (2001)

Other achievements

* The brothers gave a royal command performance for

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

in 1948 * A retrospective of their work in films appeared at the 1981

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

ceremony *

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

sold out for a tribute to the brothers in 1998 * During the course of their lives, the brothers danced for nine different

presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive bra ...

*The brothers' home movies were selected for inclusion in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

in 2011 Several of these home movies were preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

in 2016.

References

External links

* *
Jitterbuzz Lindy Week Review interview with Fayard NicholasPerforming Arts Gliding Off the Dance Floor: Fayard Nicholas
by Terry Gross
Remembrances Dancer-Choreographer Fayard NicholasRemembrances Inspiration to Astaire, Dancer Fayard Nicholas
by Joel Rose
Harold Nicholas obituaryNicholas Brothers Story
on Electro Swing Italia {{Authority control African-American male dancers African-American dancers American male dancers American dance groups American tap dancers Harlem Renaissance