The Nitty Gritty brought me here. I thought "Hey, who is THAT guy." Embarrassed to say that I didn't know his name, but glad to say after watching these clips that I've enjoyed his dancing for years. Thanks for putting this highlight reel together.
Same here - someone sent the Nitty Gritty link, and I found this. Amazing! I suspect he may have been involved with Bewitched - some of the moves are too recognizable.
In 1984 I attended the Grove School of Music and Bob Banas was our choreography instructor. I got to go over to his house. What a great guy. I only remember him being in West Side Story and also mentioning he was in a movie with Marilyn Monroe. I had NO idea he actually got a kiss from her and got to dance with Ann Margaret and in front of Judy Garland.... Bob, if you read this, you were and still are an inspiration. I still play music although I'm not as limber as I once was - LoL My son however has the acting/singing/dancing bug and WILL be an Oscar winner someday. Take Care.
What a treat to have finally discovered the Nitty Gritty video. I was 17 when you performed it. Somehow I missed the Judy Garland Show. You were tremendous. So much energy, such skill, and incomparable pizazz! I have passed it along to several who like me, had missed out. It has been such fun reading about your life and seeing all those dance clips--plus you're now a Rosarian and were a beloved teacher and mentor! Congratulations on a beautiful life! So glad your father formally introduced you and your sister to dance. We have all benefitted!
Bob Banas is a magical dancer with fierce unstoppable energy!! I studied with Bob in the late 70's thru the 80's and what a honor that was!! Brilliant man
The man is a genius. I have never in my life seen a male dancer so fluid in his movements, and so capable of translating the music. What a breath of fresh air.
Love to Watch Bobby Dance Never get tired of his Nitty Gritty Dance He's Sooooo Into it .You can tell he Loves what he does And He Was A Cutie Back Then😁😁❤❤❤
My boyfriend showed me the Nitty Gritty video a few years ago, and we both became two of Bobby Banas' biggest fans. If you watch that dance alone, you see the other guys dancing well, but Bobby is just exponentially better. He has the kind of boneless moves that those of us who have never been able to defy gravity on a dance floor can only wish we had even for a moment. I kept thinking that he has the same fluidity of motion that Dick Van Dyke does and, low and behold, he danced with Dick Van Dyke in MARY POPPINS. He also danced with Debbie Reynolds in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN. Heck, he even kissed Marilyn Monroe on the lips! What a stellar career he had. They just don't make dancers like Bobby anymore. In fact, we went to see LALA LAND and, as wonderful as it was, we came out of it saying we noticed no one stood out with the same dance finesse that Bobby Banas has. He's truly unbelievable! Love this reel!
You really need to check out Stephen Sayer and Chandrae who are both world champion dancers of this era who do a STELLAR version of the nitty gritty and they make it look so clean. They are both well connected and in sync with the very difficult ( clock hands ) circular move near the beginning. You will be amazed.
He reminds me a lot of Donald O'Connor, he had that fluid motion that made him look like he was made of rubber, and about to lose control, but every movement was precise as clockwork. Same with Bobby Banas.
That's how I got hooked! Seeing him dance the Nitty Gritty, I was instantly drawn to his amazing talent, so much so, that I had to Google search him, and have been a huge fan ever since, so thanks so much for this video, it was amazing! OMG, and yes, he sure was a cutie! Rest in Blissful Peace, Bobby Banas. ❣❣❣
Looks like he didn’t choose dance. Dance chose him. I thought the clip of the dance routine at the beach in the water was phenomenal. Modern times don’t have the brain capacity to think up such an amazing piece of art in contemporary times.
great dancer. he was in Don't Knock the Rock (1956) with Little Richard, Alan Dale, Bill Haley, Alan Freed and others. He must have some great stories.
he stood out in a many ways........obviously his loose fluid free movements, he was cute as heck and had a killer bod. No wonder Marilyn chose him to kiss. He was easy to pick out of a group dancing.
Every scene I'm thinking, 'which one is Bobby Banas?' And then he pops up! Like he's the stand out character in every scene he's in. It's just phenomenal!! Thanks for the collection, as one who (like so many others) was turned head over heals watching the youtube of his 'Real Nitty Gritty' I appreciate you gathering together this selection of him on film. Good bit of editing work too. Nicely done!
I'm not even a fan of dancing, and I got here by a series of accidents, but this man performs his craft with such style, passion, and perfection, he brought a tear to my eye, because one thing I love is excellence in any art form.
I had such a crush on Bobby after West Side Story. Imagine my thrill to discover his jazz class in Hollywood shortly after I started on the Carol Burnett Show. Just Bobby, the class and a bingo player. So much fun!💕
I just discovered another of Bobby's appearances in a musical scene I've been watching since the early 1980s. I always noticed this particular dancer but never knew who he was. It's the combination of the songs "The Squat" and "What'd I Say" from "Viva Las Vegas". Bobby's dressed in a light blue coat and he's most prominent at 2:45 cutting loose on the right hand side, doing the Dog. Also in this scene is Terri Garr - Bobby's dance partner in the beginning - who became a significant movie star in the '70s and '80s. And Toni Basil has a split-second highlight when Elvis sings "See the girl with the red dress on / She can do the Dog all night long" while she gyrates frantically in the right foreground. She's most famous for her hit song "Hey Mickey" from the early 1980s.
One of the great dancers right up there with the top names. Lived to ripe old age. That dancing gave him longevity...thanks for the song and dance Bobby. He is 88 and we share same birthrate. He will be 89 in September.
What a fabulous career for a Fabulous Dancer. Bobby.. When I saw you doing the Nitty Gritty I fell madly in love. You were the ONLY one on that stage. The others just faded out..amazing.. Love you Bobby.. xoxoxox
WHAT A MARVELOUS THING TO HAVE SOMETHING SO MAGICAL THAT IT JUST LIGHTS UP THE WORLD. THIS IS WHY I SO APPRECIATE THAT WE HAD THE MEANS TO PRESERVE THESE MOMENTS. I MEAN, WHAT A HORRIBLE LOSS FOR US, IF HE DID HIS MAGIC 300 YEARS AGO. TIMING IS EVERYTHING, AND HE HAD IT IN SPADES. WHAT A MARVELOUS PERFORMER.
Happy Birthday to the immensely talented Mr. Banas ! He was my dance teacher back in the 80's and it was an incredible HONOR to have been taught by him. He was very inspirational & had an electric aura. Even after all these years I still remember some choreography he taught me & my duo partner. Thanks Eden Jet for sharing these dance highlights of the amazing Robert Banas. Keep calm and Dance on !
Ohhh man, when West Side Story was showing in the walkin theaters, I absolutely fell in love with that movie. Of course I had no idea of Bobby Banas. Ohhhhhh man wow.
Bobby Banas is incredible. i just learned about him tonight. i wish there had been more tapes like the nitty gritty one whereby you can fully see him completely spotlighted. That little clip of him doing the swing-like dance was such a tease. I bet he was brilliant in those kinds of dances. wow. it was like he was high voltage socketed whereby everybody else was just plugged in. oh i wish there were more videos. it is awful the way dancers arent credited.
Incredible just learned about him now on Instagram watching his Nitty Gritty dance that he coreographed and got me here to watched more. He's on his 80's, Mr Bobby Banas.
There seems to be a shortage of his dancing accomplishments on film. Too bad for an extremely sought after choreographer. I would have luved to see more as in The Real Nitty Gritty.
I have just found Robert Banas the man was Astaire's and Kelly's equal Dancers amaze me, the athleticism, the strength, the muscle isolation are astounding. What is even more amazing is they perform fully dressed in heavy clothing, under extremely hot lights, but the hardest part would be to smile the whole time and pretend not to be exhausted. Professional hockey players are spent after thirty seconds. These dancers are great
Banas is real champion of dance. His skill stands out amongst the others. Beautiful to watch. The Real Nitty Gritty dance performance in 1963 was stellar.
Bobby Banas is to Dancing what Buddy Rich is to Drumming! The BEST Drummers are Dancers and the BEST Dancers are Drummers! So closely related are the two! It's all about the.... RHYTHM!
tropicalpancake56 I also. Although I'd seen him before ("West Side Story," Judy Garland, "Girl Most Likely", "Let's Make Love') it was only recently watching a clip from "Billie" that I truly "discovered" him. So thank you for much for making this reel clip so I didn't have to fast-forward through every movie he was in to find him. I agree also that he's so much fun to watch. Thanks also to Jamie Rae below for the anecdote. Hope he's well. P.S. Gym number in Billie also features Donna McKechnie (sp?).
I've enjoyed this video so many tiimes......Bob Banas, you are one of the greats of all time. Thank you for all the years of enjoyment you have given us.
oh my! 😢I just learned Bobby Banas died about 2 weeks ago! (7/29/2024) So sad! I first saw him in the Nitty Gritty video 4 or 5 yrs ago and was blown away. I'm no dancer but my daughter is. (born in 2000). She recognized him instantly! And knew all about him. RIP to a truly talented individual.
I'm almost positive when I was in 8th grade he choreographed a ragtime dance for a huge gaggle of us kids in 1975. He did it as a favor to someone at our school in Westchester north of nyc. We had a blast! I'm not a talented dancer but boy we would all see this guy had moves!
I found Bobby’s name by chance from a comment underneath the TV show Nitty Gritty performance. I watched the Nitty Gritty, and my eyes were drawn to Bobby. I couldn’t take my eyes off him! The others were dancing, but he WAS the dance. It’s exhilarating see something like that in someone. Reminded me of what I see in Leonardo Di Caprio: Leonardo throws himself in to the work heart and soul. I noticed too, that the cameraman who was filming the Nitty Gritty, couldn’t help himself either- he followed Bobby arvo. Probably wasn’t conscious of doing it- he was just captivated as I was. Thanks Booy. Give me chills . Joyful
ahahhahah....wow. ...i never realized he was that guy in all those terrific movies..had a huge influence on me and my moves. ..and didn't even know who he was....
Reminds me of a young Fred Astaire in his moves and grace. Works his ass off, but makes it look effortless. Only a great dancer can make dancing look as natural as breathing. Comes Natural.
Love this tribute. Bobby Banas was in all of my favorite musicals - "Lil Abner" "West Side Story" "Mary Poppins" "Billie" "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" and The "Twizzle" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" - he was in the background but always doing the hard dancing work! Not to mention "The Nitty Gritty!" - the best of all! Thanks for putting this together!
His individual style in every movement makes spotting he & his choreography easy. He outperformed most of the cast surrounding him, but he was a total team player-engrossed in the performance. I have thoroughly enjoyed this video & thank the compiler with gratitude. Great work showcasing a great talent! 🤠🇺🇸🇨🇱
I was watching Patty Duke's movie Billie and saw Mr. Banas in the dance scene in the locker room and was so surprised because I remember him from West Side Story, one of my all time favorite movies. What a treat to see he's been in so many movies! Thanks for this compilation!
I always respect the dancers more then the “star” Learned that from my father he always said the never get the respect they deserve He would watch them not the star I do the same as well
