For almost a century, the Rockettes have been American icons. In addition to performing in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Rockettes have made appearances on the Tony Awards, Dancing With the Stars, presidential inaugurations, commercials, and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. They have appeared at Radio City Music Hall in hundreds of stage spectaculars, and have participated in many historic and memorable events—like joining the USO and traveling abroad to entertain the troops and support wartime effort.
Take a trip down memory lane to see how the Rockettes have evolved as an iconic part of American history.
Once there were the “Missouri Rockets”
After seeing the Tiller Girls in Ziegfeld Follies of 1922, choreographer Russell Markert was inspired to form a group of American girls that could kick high, tap dance, and sing.
The dancers known as the “Missouri Rockets” made their show debut in St. Louis. That same year, the troupe traveled to New York City to perform in the Broadway show Rain or Shine. The “Missouri Rockets” were such an instant hit, that showman S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel was loath to let them leave after their performances at the Roxy Theatre, and pleaded with Markert to form another line to replace the departing dancers.
While there were three separate dance troupes performing in New York City in the early ’30s, Rothafel moved two of the troupes to Radio City Music Hall for opening night on Dec. 27th, 1932. Described as “the hottest ticket in town,” more than 100,000 people requested admission, but only 6,200 could be obliged.
Rothafel first dubbed the troupes as the “Roxyettes,” who performed a routine to the song “With a Feather in Your Cap” on opening night, but in 1934, the “Roxyettes” officially became the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
On top of four shows a day, 28 shows a week, 365 days of the year at Radio City Music Hall, the Rockettes have also performed in USO tours during WWII, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Rockettes were becoming a popular attraction, but in 1978 the Radio City Music Hall almost saw its last kick line and sparkly costume. Due to rapidly declining business, there was a discussion of closing it for good. Most people were in an uproar, and fortunately, the hall was saved at the last minute by the state of New York.
Controversy: Discrimination and lack of diversity
The first East Asian Rockette, a Japanese-born woman named Setsuko Maruhashi, was not hired until 1985. The Rockettes did not allow dark-skinned dancers into the dance line until 1987. The justification for this policy was that such women would supposedly distract from the consistent look of the dance group.
The first African American Rockette was Jennifer Jones; she made her debut in 1988. The first person with a visible disability hired by the Rockettes (Sydney Mesher, missing a left hand due to symbrachydactyly), was hired in 2019.
The Rockettes today
Since the 1990s, the Rockettes have only performed at Radio City Music Hall from November to January in the Christmas Spectacular. However, that changed in Spring 2015 when the Rockettes starred in a new eight-week production, The New York Spring Spectacular, alongside Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti and Dancing with the Stars’ Derek Hough.
In June 2016, the Rockettes performed on the Great Stage to celebrate New York City in The New York Spectacular. Centered around the trip of a lifetime for two kids, who, while on a vacation in New York, are separated from their parents, the city magically comes to life to show them its many splendid wonders.
The Rockettes have been busier and more in the public eye than ever. They have performed on the Great Stage with Oprah, Heidi Klum, Michael Bublé, and have made numerous appearances on The TODAY Show, The Chew, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Project Runway (a costume was designed during a special Rockettes-themed episode by finalist Christopher Palu!) and America’s Got Talent (2013, 2014 and 2015!).
How to become a Rockette?
Every year, hundreds of dancers flock to New York City for the chance to spend the holiday season onstage at Radio City Music Hall alongside the Rockettes. With only 80 spots total, and even fewer open for newcomers each year, making it as one of the city’s iconic dancers isn’t an easy feat.
Auditions for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular are held each spring in New York City. It is an open-call process—meaning anyone can show up and audition—and it takes two full days. The women are taught a very basic combination at first, but they are expected to learn it very quickly and pick up every little detail. After very little time to perfect it, the women are divided into groups of three to perform the combination. Once everyone has shown their abilities, cuts are made, and the remaining women learn a more difficult combination, usually a tap routine. After everyone has performed, more cuts are made, and the few lucky women left standing return the next day for more choreography.
Rockettes must be between 5 feet, 6 inches and 5 feet, 10 1/2 inches tall. All performers must be at least 18 years old to be considered as a potential Rockette. Girls age 17 or younger may audition for the experience (with parental consent), but will not be considered for casting. You must be a US citizen or have a legal work permit allowing you to work in the US in order to become a Rockette. Contract dates range from early October/early November to late December/early January, so performers must commit to these periods of time.
Christmas Spectacular
The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes is an annual musical holiday stage show presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 90-minute show features more than 140 performers and an original musical score and combines singing, dancing, and humor with traditional scenes. The star performers are the women’s precision dance troupe the Rockettes. Since the first version was presented in 1933, the show has become a New York Christmas tradition. The 2019/2020 production will run from November 8, 2019, to January 5, 2020.
