The Radio City Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded in 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since 1932, performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual Christmas show, and for performing annually since 1957 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. [1]
The Rockettes were originally inspired by the Tiller Girls, a precision dance company of the United Kingdom established by John Tiller in the 1890s. Tiller sent the first troupe of Tiller Girls to perform in the United States in 1900, and eventually there were three lines of them working on Broadway. [2] In 1922, choreographer Russell Markert saw one of these troupes, known as the Tiller Rockets, perform in the Ziegfeld Follies and was inspired to create his own version with American dancers. [2]
As Markert would later recall, "If I ever got a chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks, they'd really knock your socks off." [2] They were originally called the Missouri Rockets, and they began performing in 1925 at the Missouri Theatre in St. Louis. [3] After the impresario Roxy brought them to New York for his Roxy Theatre, they were called the Roxyettes. They were billed as such when Roxy brought them to Radio City Music Hall for its opening in December 1932. It was only later that the name of the company changed to the Radio City Rockettes. [3]
For decades, the schedule of a Radio City Rockette was much different than in the modern day. Until 1979, Radio City Music Hall had a movie/show format, in which a movie was shown at the theater four times a day, usually for a week. [4] Rockettes would often have days that started at seven AM and lasted until after ten PM. [4] After each showing of the movie running at the theater, there would be a performance involving variety acts, the former ballet company that existed at Radio City until 1974, and finally the Rockettes. [3] Each Rockette would work for three weeks straight and then have a week off. [5] Russell Markert choreographed kicklines that always featured sixteen eye-high kicks, determining that the crowd usually started applauding between the eighth and the twelfth kick. [3]
In 1957, the Radio City Rockettes performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the very first time, and they have performed there every year since. [5] For decades, they performed exclusively in the parade and at Radio City Music Hall, with the exception of the Paris Exposition in 1937, at which their sixteen-minute piece won the Grand Prix. [5]
The Rockettes have long been represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). In 1967, they won a month-long strike for better working conditions, [6] which was led by AGVA salaried officer Penny Singleton. [7] In August 2002, contract negotiations for the troupe's veteran members resulted in a buyout by the owners of Radio City Music Hall. Roughly a fourth of the veteran Rockettes were offered retirement options, while the remaining dancers were offered the opportunity to re-audition. [8]
One of the Rockettes’ trademarks is their height requirement. [5] In the earlier years the cutoff was between 5 ft 2 in (1.6 m) and 5 ft 6.5 in (1.7 m), but was between 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) and 5 ft 10.5 in (1.8 m) until 2022 in stocking feet to give off the illusion of each girl being the same height. In 2022, the Rockettes lowered the minimum height to 5 ft 5 in (1.7 m). [9] Rockettes must be proficient in tap, modern, jazz and ballet. [10] The size of the original Roxyettes troupe was 16 women, but its numbers have grown since 1925. [3] By the time they moved to Radio City Music Hall, Markert had a line of forty-seven dancers, thirty-six of whom danced at a time. [3] There are currently 84 Rockettes: two casts with thirty-six dancers and twelve "swings."
On August 1, 2007, the Rockettes were inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. [11]
The first non-white Rockette, a Japanese-born woman named Setsuko Maruhashi, was not hired until 1985. [12] The Rockettes did not allow dark-skinned dancers into the dance line until 1987. [13] The justification for this policy was that such women would supposedly distract from the consistent look of the dance group. [14] In 1982, Violet Holmes, the director at the time, insisted that precision was all about uniformity, and having dancers of color would be distracting. [4] The first African American Rockette was Jennifer Jones; selected in 1987, she made her debut in 1988 at the Super Bowl XXII halftime show. [15] The first person with a visible disability hired by the Rockettes (Sydney Mesher, missing a left hand due to symbrachydactyly) was hired in 2019. [16]
From 2002 to 2019, the Rockettes presented a dance training program called the Rockettes Summer Intensive. This weeklong dance education program offered aspiring dancers the opportunity to train with current Radio City Rockettes and choreographers and learn choreography from the Rockettes repertoire. [17]
Now, the Rockettes run their very own Dancer Development Program, a name for their combined efforts to bring more diversity onto the line by reaching out and working with organizations like the Ailey School, teaching classes at Boston Conservatory, and, most notably, their new Conservatory program. [18] Dancers who make it all the way to the end of the audition at Radio City each April are invited to come and study at Radio City for a week at no cost. [18] Housing and shoes are provided, and several dancers are often hired to join the company from the group of Conservatory hopefuls. [18]
In late 2016, the Madison Square Garden Company, which manages the troupe, agreed to have the Rockettes perform at the inauguration of Donald Trump. [19] According to a report in the New York Daily News , there was an initial "edict" to perform at the inaugural. [20] Immediately several Rockettes dissented, [21] including Rockette Phoebe Pearl who complained that she was being forced to perform at the inaugural against her wishes. [22] One Rockette felt reluctant to "perform for this monster", referring to president-elect Donald Trump, and another said she "wouldn't feel comfortable standing near a man like that in our costumes." [23]
Madison Square Garden issued a statement saying that "For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at a particular event, including the inaugural. It is always their choice. In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available." Another report suggested that dancers were allowed to "opt-out" if they thought that they would feel uncomfortable performing. [20]
Many on social media believed attendance was mandatory, including Julissa Sabino, a performer who is part of the union, who tweeted that the issue "breaks my heart" and urged supporters to "help these ladies." Autumn Withers, a former Rockette, supported a boycott, saying "take a knee, ladies!" [24] [25] In December 2016, according to The Atlantic , three of the thirteen full-time dancers had chosen to sit out the event. [21] [26] The company danced to a medley of Irving Berlin songs at the Inaugural Ball on the evening of January 20. [27]
Although the Radio City Christmas Spectacular has been a constant every holiday season since 1979, there have been several attempts to mount a warm-weather show with the Rockettes. In the spring of 2015, Radio City launched the New York Spring Spectacular, and in the summer of 2016, produced the New York Spectacular, in an attempt to draw in audiences outside the holiday season. [28] Neither show was ever reproduced, citing difficulties with filling up Radio City Music Hall’s nearly 6,000 seats without the nostalgia and tradition that bring audiences in during the holidays. [28]
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular was canceled for the first time in its history. [29] The following year, the 2021 Radio City Christmas Spectacular was canceled in mid-December, only a month into its planned runtime. [29] Too many members of the cast and crew, who were recommended but not required to wear masks or test, caught the virus, leading to the cancellation of the show. [29]
TheTabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for over 100 years. Its weekly devotional program, Music & the Spoken Word, is one of the longest-running radio programs in the world, having aired every week since July 15, 1929.
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for the Rockettes. Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style.
Samuel Lionel "Roxy" Rothafel was an American theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. He is noted for developing the lavish presentation of silent films in the deluxe movie palace theaters of the 1910s and 1920s.
Vera-Ellen was an American dancer and actress. She is remembered for her solo performances as well as her work with partners Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald O'Connor. She is best known for her starring roles in On the Town (1949) with Gene Kelly and White Christmas (1954) with Danny Kaye.
Marla Ann Maples is an American actress, television personality, model, singer and presenter. She was the second wife of U.S. president Donald Trump. They married in December 1993, two months after the birth of their daughter Tiffany, separated in 1997 and divorced in 1999.
Suzanne Kaaren was an American B-movie actress and dancer who starred in stock film genres of the 1930s and 1940s: horror films, westerns, comedies, and romances.
The Tiller Girls were among the most popular dance troupes of the 1890s, first formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England, in 1889. In theatre Tiller had noticed the overall effect of a chorus of dancers was often spoiled by lack of discipline. Tiller found that by linking arms the dancers could dance as one; he is credited with inventing precision dance. Possibly most famous for their high-kicking routines, the Tiller Girls were highly trained and precise.
The Roxy Theatre was a 5,920-seat movie palace at 153 West 50th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, just off Times Square in New York City. It was the largest movie theater ever built at the time of its construction in 1927. It opened on March 11, 1927 with the silent film The Love of Sunya starring Gloria Swanson. It was a leading Broadway film showcase through the 1950s and also noted for its lavish stage shows. It closed and was demolished in 1960.
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.
John Thomas Ibbotson Tiller was a musical theatre director who was credited with inventing precision dance and was the originator of the 'Tiller Girls'.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is a United States–based non-profit performing arts and entertainment company that tours internationally, producing performances including dance and symphonic music. It is operated by the Falun Gong new religious movement. Shen Yun is composed of eight large performing ensembles, with a total of approximately 480 performers. Shen Yun has performed in front of millions and has toured more than 200 cities across Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia.
Jane Sherman was an American writer, performer, composer, and one-time dancer and member of the Rockettes the famed in-house dance troupe of Radio City Music Hall. She was a former member and authority of Denishawn, the eclectic company, founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in 1915. She performed with companies ranging from modern-dance groups to the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
The Parade of the Tin Soldiers, also known as The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, is an instrumental musical character piece, in the form of a popular jaunty march, written by German composer Leon Jessel, in 1897.
"Christmas in New York" is a Christmas song written by Billy Butt at the piano of the Church of Sweden in New York in 1979. It was recorded by John Wesley Shipp and released as a single in 1982, with "The Christmas Song" on its B-side.
The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Trump's first term as president and Mike Pence's only term as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The event was the 58th presidential inauguration. Held in Washington, D.C., from January 17 to 21, 2017, inaugural events included concerts, the swearing-in ceremony, a congressional luncheon, parade, inaugural balls, and the interfaith inaugural prayer service. The inauguration was protested worldwide.
Autumn Withers is an American actress, singer and former dancer with the Radio City Rockettes.
Jennifer Jones is an American dancer and actress. In 1987, she became the first African American Radio City Music Hall Rockette.
Before declaring his first run for office in 2015, Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States and the president-elect, pursued celebrity throughout his highly publicized real estate career and prolific appearances on television. His extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner, and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have made him a well-known public figure in American life for nearly half a century.
Richard William "Dick" Leibert was an American musician who was the chief organist at New York City's Radio City Music Hall between 1932 and 1971. He also had a radio program of organ music on the NBC Radio Network in the 1930s and 1940s, along with making phonograph recordings on the RCA Victor and Westminster Records labels.
Emilio Sosa is a costume designer for Broadway and is as of 2021 chair of the American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees in New York City. He has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards as a costume designer, and is best-known for his work on Topdog/Underdog, Porgy and Bess, and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.
Several high-profile musicians including Elton John and Celine Dion have refused to perform at the event....
Dolan announced that The Rockettes ... would perform for Trump. Immediately, individual dancers began to dissent. ...
...Out of the 13 full-time, year-round Rockettes, three have already decided to sit out the event. ...
Media related to The Rockettes at Wikimedia Commons
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