dancing brothers

[Marijn]

What was the name of the fantastic dancing brothers who were famous about the same time as Fred Astaire?They were black, they may have been twins, I can't remember.

[Cetti]

Thank you notafish and jno for that info. I am now totally hooked and have gathered all their clips to view together. I wonder , because of their colour if they were as widely known as they could have been?

What a bonus to see them perform with Glen Miller, Cab Calloway (love Jumpin' Jive) and Dorothy Dandridge. Wasn't she beautiful?

[Marijn]

I like this clip too, especially at the end of the dance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EexOzjz6Gn4

[Marijn]

You're welcome Cetti. Thanks for your clip.
Thank you very much GEEMAC for taking the time to explain to me how to add links. I did one, see above. But tried to send the Christopher Walken dance to my sister-in-law (cos she loves him) by email, and I couldn't get it to work. When I right clicked, so I could then click on "paste", it wouldn't let me, "paste" was the only word written in grey.
What went wrong? Sorry if this is a silly question, but as you can see I'm not computer literate.

[GEEMAC]

Hi notafish glad to help. It should work just the same to send in an email to your sister-in-law. It sounds like you didn't have a paste option as you had nothing to paste, so possibly you forgot to do the copy bit. Try it again remembering to copy first. Let me know how you get on. Just going to check your link now...

[GEEMAC]

...just watched that clip, amazing stuff. I wonder if, as cetti suggested, their colour means they aren't as well known as they should be. Yet strangely even in these enlightened times, they are still largely unheard of. Incredibly talented, they sure knew how to do entertainment in those days. None of the 'entertainment' shows we have today (X Factor etc.) come anywhere near close.

[Marijn]

Thanks GEEMAC. I'm going to try again.....
I like this dance too....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZXGdg23Qdk

[Marijn]

I DID IT.... HURRAY!
Yes, it's a great shame the Nicholas Brothers aren't more famous. I only know of them cos my Mum told me about them. I bet loads more people have heard of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers. (Who aren't as talented, in my opinion)
I'm not particularly interested in dance, but I can't help but feel happy AND awestruck when I watch them :-) & :-O

[Marijn]

Dorothy Dandridge should have been more famous than she was too.
Thank you, and thanks to Ethel for putting the Glenn Miller clip on, or I never would have known about her.

[Marijn]

BTW I managed to put the Christopher Walken link on my sister-in-law's e-mail. Thanks

[GEEMAC]

Glad to hear it notafish. I'm just showing my kids the clips now. They love them.

[Cetti]

That is just so sad about Dorothy Dandridge, IAP.

Doesn't it make you angry even now that such a beautiful creature with such a glorious voice should be cast aside and treated so badly, all because she just happened to be born a stunning mocha instead of our sickly pale. I believe that Lena Horne also suffered terribly, regarding her career because of her colour. How shameful, but how fortunate for us that these wonderful clips are still there for all to enjoy.

[Cetti]

Well done notafish for getting copy and paste sorted. They'll be no stopping you now!

[Marijn]

Usually if I need to copy and paste I ask one of my children to do it for me (if they are to hand), but they get a bit annoyed with me for being a bit computer phobic. Now I can do it for myself and I'm really pleased : )

[GEEMAC]

notafish, as a friendly suggestion, have you considered getting a beginners guide to computing as it seems you may not be getting as much out of your computer as you could be. I can't really recommend any but there are loads out there. Like everything, it's all pretty easy when you know how, like copy and pasting. And then maybe you can show your children a thing or two : )

[Marijn]

That is a good suggestion, thanks :-)

[jno]

in fairness to Fred and Ginger, they weren't just famous for dancing, their films were romances as well, in which they ended up together; their dancing reflected the (on-screen) relationship. The Nicholas Brothers' dancing obviously didn't have that kind of emotional undertone - it's done for fun, not for passion.

Fred is better known than Ginger, but putting the two of them together meant combining his grace with her sassiness - she'd previously been more of a comedienne. Someone said 'He gave her class, she gave him sex.' (Not literally - it meant she made him look sexy, which he didn't otherwise.)

And as Ginger allegedly said: 'I did everything Fred did, but backwards and in high heels.'

[Cetti]

Although I loved most of the Fred and Ginger films, jno, don't you think that the ones with Rita Hayworth and Cyd Charisse made him look a little better, cause let's face it he wasn't a looker, but what a classy dancer...

I think that Fred was the equivalent of the Clarke Brothers and Gene Kelly, the Nicholas Brothers. Both great, but very different in style.

[jno]

I loved Cyd Charisse, she always looked ready to stand up to him. Apparently she was the only partner he never made cry - he was very demanding about rehearsing and retakes. And Rita Hayworth and Eleanor Powell were wonderful too, all in their different styles.