Every year, the most famous showgirls in New York City return to Radio City Music Hall to perform their intricate Christmas special. Their show includes variations of dances of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker, which is based off of the old folklore The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, as well as their most famous and longest standing tradition dance called the can-can.
The ‘can-can’ dance is where the girls all stand next to each other in a straight line and swing their legs up high swiftly and precisely, almost as if they are kicking the air.
Even though they are a tradition, and their show is the show to watch in New York during the holiday season. However, not many people, especially in the younger generations, know who they are anymore.
The Rockettes are a precise dance group that was founded in 1925 and have performed at Radio City since 1932. Their dances are a wide range of styles, from contemporary to a classical ballet type, and also include elements of jazz and tap in their show.
Each year in April, the Rockettes have a strict audition where the dancers are required to be between 5’6 and 5’10 in order to even be eligible to tryout. They have these strict auditions in order to get the best, while also looking uniformed and all similar. The Rockettes will perform five shows a day, seven days a week.
The girls not only perform at Radio City, they also dance in shows across the nation, and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Over the years, The Rockettes have also performed in the 1988 Super Bowl during the halftime performance. It was reported that almost 150 million people watched that performance. Then they also performed at George W. Bush’s inauguration ceremony in 2001.
These dancers also have extremely elaborate and exquisite costume and dresses that come from a holiday special. From the glitter and sparkles to the detailed nutcracker army costumes, all of it has been perfected throughout the years and looks absolutely amazing.
“I think they’re all dancers and they work so hard just as anybody else would.” senior Alexis Mueller said. “I appreciate how incredibly precise they are because their movements are so hard and they have such perfect form all of the time. I think their Santa costumes are also really adorable.”
Even with the Rockettes’ winter performances being a 98-year-old tradition, many people nowadays concentrate on the other holiday concerts of festivals that come towards the end of the year.
The new “fads” being the Hot 99.5 Jingle Ball, or the Michael Bublé Christmas album concert the classic tradition of the Radio City Rockettes is slowly fading into the background.
“I don’t really know who the Rockettes are. The only thing I truly know about them is that they dance during Christmas and do the ‘can-can’ dance,” senior Xavier Felix said.
There aren’t just music concerts that students or people go to, there are also other dance groups that have become big and perform various shows like The Nutcracker and A Swingin’ Holiday.
This play features the swingin’ music of the ’30s and ’40s as well as peoples favorite holiday tunes and jazzy renditions of The Nutcracker Suite and then there is also a Diablo Ballet premiere of Our Walzes Trilogy.
The Rockettes annual show is called the “Christmas Spectacular,” and it’s a highly regarded show that uses many traditional holiday songs like “Welcome Christmas”, “White Christmas in New York,” “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” and finally “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
“If I went to go see them I’d would probably most excited to see the setting and how they play up the stage along with the dance moves and effects.” sophomore Mahlet Ayele said. “I love the way they are all synchronized together. It truly amazes me.”
Rockettes will once again rock the stage in their 2013-2014 season with performances all over the nation.