Berry Brothers

This article is about the dance trio. For the wine and spirit merchant, see Berry Brothers and Rudd.

The Berry Brothers were an African-American "exotic, acrobatic soft shoe dance" trio, active in the entertainment business for over 30 years.[1] The trio was composed of Ananias (Nyas, "King of the Strut"), James and Warren Berry.

In 1938, at the Cotton Club there was a face-off dance competition between the Nicholas Brothers and the Berry Brothers. It has become a legendary confrontation, a sort of dance-fight for supremacy. By some accounts the Berry Brothers were more athletic but the Nicholas brothers were better overall performers – better at pleasing the crowd.[2]

Their film credits include Lady Be Good (1941), Panama Hattie (1942), Boarding House Blues (1948), and You're My Everything (1949).

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Frank, Rusty E. (1990). Tap: The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and their Stories, 1900–1955. Da Capo Press. pp. 153–160. ISBN 0-306-80635-5.
  2. ↑ Neal, Mark Anthony (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Routledge. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-415-96919-0.
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