They’re identical twins. They’re insane tap dancers. And they’re not shy about what it’s like in the spotlight of spotlights, holding down the stage in one of the Strip’s hottest productions—Absinthe.

Sean and John Scott first slipped into their Capezios at age 6. By 14, they were working the sidewalks of Santa Monica with a piece of plywood and a bucket, and they’ve since performed with megastars like Beyoncé, Usher and Christina Aguilera. They’ve danced for Nike and Converse in special sneakers equipped with tap soles. And they’ve charmed Las Vegas crowds with their infectious energy and sick moves.

Separately, we caught the 30-year-old Scotts on the phone to chat about favorite things, surreal moments and the language of their dance.

Sean

Your tap style can be classic and funky, bringing in elements of hip-hop. I like making it more street; it’s more of a feeling. You turn the music on—you just dance. But since I don’t know how to regular dance, I just tap dance. (laughs) I’m basically drumming with my feet, just going with the music. Tap dancing is a form of percussion, and I’m just another instrument.

Who inspires you? The Nicholas Brothers really inspire me. They did a movie called Stormy Weather, and Fred Astaire called it the greatest dance performance onscreen. That’s the one where they were jumping over each other into the splits, on stairs. It’s really awesome. (Click here for the clip, and skip to 1:30.)

Watching your own videos, closeups on your shoes reveal how battle-scarred they are. How do you break in a new pair? Someone in my case, I’m always dancing, so it would take me like a month to break in the tap shoes, because it’s handmade leather. And then the more worn-in the better they sound and you can move in them. When I first get ’em I basically crack the bar that’s in the sole; you have to bend it and twist it to help it stretch out. From time on, from wear and tear, you’re gonna create some holes in the side, and you can just tape ’em up and just keep on tap dancing.

You’re from LA, but you’ve been performing in Las Vegas for awhile. What do you love about it, and what do you not love? I love the fact that Vegas embraces us. What I don’t like about it is, when it gets to 110 degrees.

Any favorite restaurants? I like trying new places, but I do like M&M Soul Food; that’s one of my favorites. I like the barbecued chicken with the rice and mac and cheese and yams. ... I know it’s a lot.

What about sports? Any team you’re rooting for to make the Super Bowl this year? I like the Seahawks; that’s a talented team. I like the ’9ers.

Ever gamble? I do a little bit of sports betting. I do play some roulette, and my grandma calls it a “sucker’s game.” Now I see why she calls it a sucker’s game, because I’ve been losing money on that. (laughs) Basically I just bet outside the zeros.

Is that supposed to be less of a sucker bet? It’s just a strategy that I think works, but it never does. (laughs)

In your line of work, you’ve gotten to meet some A-list celebs. Do you have any famous crushes? I think Ariana Grande is adorable. Foxy Brown is a celebrity crush, even though she’s older. Of course, Halle Berry. She’s gorgeous.

There are gorgeous women in Absinthe, but you and John have show-stealing energy when you dance. You seem really into each others’ solos, but I’m wondering if that’s more for the audience after so many years performing together. The audience reacts to genuine things. If you fake something, they can see where you fake it. ... Me and John vibe off of each other. If he’s clapping while I’m going then it’ll make me get into it more. If he’s just sitting there watching me I’m like, okay, you gotta hop in this. Even if you’re not dancing, you still gotta hop in this with me.

What do you think is his best technique? I like his backslide. ... And then he walks on his toes fairly easy.

Because you’re making music with your feet, does tap really need a song in the background? It’s just like peanut butter and jelly. ... You can eat peanut butter by itself, and you can eat jelly by itself. Tap dancing, in that regard, I think we can make our own music, and we have fun making our own music, but it’s like adding sugar if you turn the radio on. It just makes it even sweeter.

Your act adds a sweet layer to the hilarious dirtiness of Absinthe. The hand-puppet sex ... I laugh off of that every night. That show is the funniest show I’ve ever been a part of and ever seen at the same time. And it’s the only show in Vegas that’s dirty like that. It’s definitely kept its edge.

John

Both of you started dancing young, but was one brother the catalyst? I took up art classes first because I loved to draw. And I joined my brother about two weeks or two months later—I can’t remember. But I joined him after, and I surpassed him. (laughs)

Do you still draw? No, I don’t really draw anymore. I just watch cartoons.

What else do you do in Vegas on your days off? I usually go to the gym. … I took up boxing training. It is in service of my dance because it keeps us in shape and keeps our stamina up.

How do you describe tap? It’s like a dancing drummer, basically. It’s like a language.

Is there a particular skill Sean has that you admire? A James Brown move, but with sound.

Knowing his style as well as you do, can he still surprise you? Sometimes he’ll push himself and I’m like, wow. I would expect him to stop on a count, but he’ll keep going and win the crowd’s favor.

Before you ever danced on a big stage, you were in art school. Did you bust out tap moves at prom? No. ... Growing up, sometimes I felt like tap dancing, you know, I had a stigma about it. I thought it was kinda corny. When I got older I realized that it’s a part of me and it’s okay. I could use what I do to inspire a lot of people, a lot of kids. I became more confident at it as I got older.

I don’t think of tap as a street dance, but you’ve done videos on pavement. We used to street perform in LA. We used to get a piece of wood, a radio and our bucket and go out there and dance for six hours. That was our summer job growing up.

How much could you make in six hours? $800 to $1,100.

Wow. That’s a lot more than you’d make with a lemonade stand. What music would you play? Whatever was hot. I remember playing Lauryn Hill when her CD came out. Outkast. We would try to switch it up as well, the famous pop songs that were out, so we could appeal to all demographics.

Your talent has afforded you the chance to meet some of the people whose songs you’ve danced to. Who’s been the coolest? Surprisingly, recently, Madonna. She’s really humble. She loves to teach because she’s seen it all and done it all. Also, Gregory Hines, and Stevie Wonder was really nice.

Is it surreal that these people are in awe of what you do, too? When I danced with Jay Z and Beyoncé it was kind of surreal. … We were teaching Usher for a couple jobs that we did with him. I remember being in the mirror, and I would kinda go into shock a little bit, but I would check myself. (laughs)

When you’re not wearing your tap shoes, you’ve been spotted wearing some sweet Air Jordans. Any favorite pairs? My Space Jam 11s, and my Bred 11s. I love those.

Do you ever dance in them? Heck no! I try to float in them, try to walk on air when I’m wearing ’em.

In Absinthe, the audience is so close. Do you ever watch faces to see how the crowd’s reacting? The crowd’s reaction is what keeps you going, motivates you. I believe that the crowd is the judge; I believe it’s your boss. That’s the heartbeat of what you do.

When nobody’s watching, do your feet move? We have the Happy Feet symptoms. We’re just hanging out and we just start dancing a little bit. It’s definitely a habit.