Fayard Nicholas, acclaimed dancer

LOS ANGELES – When Fayard Nicholas danced, his body knew instinctively what to do – whether it was tap, ballet or his signature, high-in-the-air full split.

Teamed with his brother, Harold, Nicholas moved with a natural grace and athleticism that inspired generations of dancers, from Fred Astaire to Maurice and Gregory Hines to Savion Glover. Nicholas (91), who died last Tuesday was “the greatest all-round dancer I have ever seen,” Maurice Hines said .”He could do anything.”Fayard knew about line,” Hines added.”Without taking ballet training, he had that gift of doing moves without knowing what they were.Plus, he had something that’s very rare today – he had class.”Nicholas’ career took off at age 18, when he and his 11-year-old brother became the featured act at New York’s famed Cotton Club in 1932.The Nicholas Brothers were the only black performers allowed to mingle with the white celebrity patrons.Despite the racial hurdles facing black performers, they went on to Broadway, then Hollywood.”I don’t think that audiences ever looked at them as African-American.I think they just looked at them as great talents,” Tony Nicholas said.”And as a result, that’s why they became so loved.”Tap dancer Rusty Frank said Nicholas had a unique style that changed the face of tap dance.”He and his brother, they didn’t just use their feet to dance, they used their whole bodies.And it had an electrifying quality,” she said.”They used ballet, they used jazz, they used acrobatics….They combined it all.”Astaire once told the brothers that the acrobatic elegance and synchronicity of the ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ dance sequence in ‘Stormy Weather’ (1943) made it the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen.In the number from the all-black musical starring Lena Horne and Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, the brothers tap across music stands in an orchestra with the fearless exuberance of children stone-hopping across a pond.In the finale, they leapfrog seamlessly down a sweeping staircase, performing incredible splits.Their polished urbanity and classic good looks made the Nicholas brothers film stars.Their dance routines were featured in such movies as ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (1940) and ‘Sun Valley Serenade’ (1941).In later years, Harold did solo work in Europe, then returned to Broadway.Fayard won a Tony Award in 1989 for his choreography of ‘Black and Blue’, and the brothers were awarded Kennedy Centre Honours in 1991.- Nampa-APNicholas (91), who died last Tuesday was “the greatest all-round dancer I have ever seen,” Maurice Hines said .”He could do anything.”Fayard knew about line,” Hines added.”Without taking ballet training, he had that gift of doing moves without knowing what they were.Plus, he had something that’s very rare today – he had class.”Nicholas’ career took off at age 18, when he and his 11-year-old brother became the featured act at New York’s famed Cotton Club in 1932.The Nicholas Brothers were the only black performers allowed to mingle with the white celebrity patrons.Despite the racial hurdles facing black performers, they went on to Broadway, then Hollywood.”I don’t think that audiences ever looked at them as African-American.I think they just looked at them as great talents,” Tony Nicholas said.”And as a result, that’s why they became so loved.”Tap dancer Rusty Frank said Nicholas had a unique style that changed the face of tap dance.”He and his brother, they didn’t just use their feet to dance, they used their whole bodies.And it had an electrifying quality,” she said.”They used ballet, they used jazz, they used acrobatics….They combined it all.”Astaire once told the brothers that the acrobatic elegance and synchronicity of the ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ dance sequence in ‘Stormy Weather’ (1943) made it the greatest movie musical number he had ever seen.In the number from the all-black musical starring Lena Horne and Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, the brothers tap across music stands in an orchestra with the fearless exuberance of children stone-hopping across a pond.In the finale, they leapfrog seamlessly down a sweeping staircase, performing incredible splits.Their polished urbanity and classic good looks made the Nicholas brothers film stars.Their dance routines were featured in such movies as ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (1940) and ‘Sun Valley Serenade’ (1941).In later years, Harold did solo work in Europe, then returned to Broadway.Fayard won a Tony Award in 1989 for his choreography of ‘Black and Blue’, and the brothers were awarded Kennedy Centre Honours in 1991.- Nampa-AP