Brotherhood In Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers [Paperback]

Constance Valis Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2002

Tap dancing legends Fayard (b. 1914) and Harold (1918-2000) Nicholas amazed crowds with their performances in musicals and films from the 30s to the 80s. They performed with Gene Kelly in The Pirate, with Cab Calloway in Stormy Weather, with Dorothy Dandridge (Harold's wife) in Sun Valley Serenade, and with a number of other stars on the stage and on the screen. Author Hill not only guides readers through the brothers' showstopping successes and the repressive times in which their dancing won them universal acclaim, she also offers extensive insight into the history and choreography of tap dancing, bringing readers up to speed on the art form in which the Nicholas Brothers excelled.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a lovingly researched and thoughtfully created portrait of Fayard and Harold Nicholas, whose spectacular dance routines have captivated stage and screen audiences from the Depression era to current times. Hill's infectious admiration will inspire even those not well acquainted with the pair to locate Down Argentine Way or Sun Valley Serenade and enjoy their performances. In his introduction, Gregory Hines praises the one-of-a-kind routines the brothers developed, which included intricate steps, breathtaking splits, and impeccable timing. Their style was outstanding, but so was their highly professional approach to the mercurial world of show business, with its particularly disturbing racial issues. Exceptionally clear and useful descriptions of the elements of early jazz, the evolution of the minstrel show, and the components of various dance forms provide background on the forces influencing the performance world of the time. A natural for dance enthusiasts, this is also essential reading for anyone interested in entertainment history.
-Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Hill takes the high road in presenting the work more than the lives of Fayard and Harold Nicholas, whose graceful and athletic dancing continues to astound viewers of the otherwise often humdrum movie musicals in which they appeared. Hill furnishes just enough about the brothers' theater-musician parents, Fayard's precocious choreographical mind and Harold's aptitude for speed-learning movement, black dancers in vaudeville, and vaudeville's transition to stage and film to prepare readers for her analysis and appreciation of the Nicholases' art. She doesn't trade in gossip, instead giving move-by-move breakdowns of the brothers' classic numbers and discussing what films of them rehearsing at home and performing in theaters and New York's legendary Cotton Club also reveal. Stressing the joyousness of their work, she imparts just how they achieved it, which makes the book an ideal companion for dance and film buffs intent on inspecting the Nicholases' sometimes impossible-seeming foot-and bodywork--their death-or-grievous-injury-defying splits, for instance. Invaluable dance-term glossary included. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press (April 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815412150
• ISBN-13: 978-0815412151
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,440,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Tap

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A scholarly analysis, but not a biography, October 9, 2000

By 

Paula Broussard (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brotherhood in Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers (Hardcover)

I would recommend purchasing Ms. Hill's treatise on the dance and historic origins of the Nicholas Brothers' dance styles and choreography. However, those who seek a detailed biography will be disappointed, as this book was aimed to be a scholarly work, not a biographical one. The book has little mention of their personal life, marriages, divorces, activities apart and completely ignored many foreign films they made in the 1950's. Harold's marriage to Dorothy Dandridge is mentioned only in passing, and his extensive career in Paris for a decade was only lightly researched. No personal family interviews were apparently done. Although excellent as a dance resource, those seeking a more well-rounded insight on the personality and life of these two genious entertainers will be better served by a biography, which Ms. Hill's book does not aim to be. It will make a great companion work to a still much-needed in-depth look at their lives.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment!, August 2, 2002

By 

Katrina S. Sussmeier - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brotherhood in Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers (Hardcover)

How anyone could take the most facinating subjects in the world (the Nicholas Brothers) and make it dull, dead, BORING is beyond me! But this author has done it. I hope she has another career goal, because her writing is just awful and she conveys NO excitement, fun or even history. She glosses over Fayard & Harold's actual history and instead focuses on describing each tap step of each routine--and even to me, as a tap dancer, DULL! I want to hear their stories, for goodness' sake. I KNOW their dancing!