The Radio City Rockettes have kicked off the holiday season in New York City for the last 91 years. On my walk to the Time & Life building (i.e., work) in the morning, I petted the baby camel parked outside on one of the tiny side streets of Rockefeller Plaza. Golden fur, soft and so clean! The Living Nativity and Parade of the Living Soldiers have been in the Christmas show since its beginning. The Rockettes are a precision dance company famous for their kickline and eye-high kicks.
To be a Rockette, hopefuls must measure between 5'6" and 5'10.5" tall in stocking feet. The dancers must know tap, jazz, modern, and ballet. A total of 80 Rockettes are hired for the Christmas Spectacular, with 2 casts of 40 dancers for the afternoon and evening performances. They rehearse in the basement of St. Paul the Apostle Church (located on West 59th Street beside Lincoln Center) for six hours a day, six days a week for six weeks.
Only 36 dancers appear on stage at one time. The tallest dancers line up in the middle with shorter dancers on the ends. It gives the illusion that each woman is the same height.
There are more than 1,100 costumes and pairs of shoes. Their shoes have microphones so the audience can hear the tap dancing during 12 Days of Christmas and Rag Dog.
Other fun facts include the show runs for 90 minutes with no intermission. The Rockettes do more than 160 kicks per show and can perform up to 4 shows a day during the busy season. Since the Christmas Spectacular premiered in 1932, 3,000 women have been Rockettes.
If you wish to know what it's like to auditon and be a New York City Rockette, click the entertaining video below to hear firsthand:
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