Development, Definition, and the Insights of Nicolas Darvas
In the dimly lit, smoke-filled nightclubs of the 1950s, Nicolas Darvas, a Hungarian immigrant who came to the U.S. to escape the ravages of World War II, was something of a throwback, dazzling often massive audiences with the ballroom prowess of Old Europe while executing precise steps and acrobatic lifts that left spectators—those without any love for the then-ascending genre of rock-n-roll—in awe. Little did they know that this dancer’s meticulous timing and preternatural ability to see just where his partner would land were skills that would soon bring him even greater renown on an entirely different stage.
As America emerged from the generation-long stock market cautiousness left over from the 1929 crash, Darvas pirouetted…
