Rockettes
"The Rockettes" are an American precision dance company. Founded in 1925 in St. Louis, they have performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, since 1932. 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 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The Rockettes also conduct the Rockette Summer Intensive for dancers aspiring to be Rockettes.
The Rockettes are a well-known precision dance company, stationed out of the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York City. The Rockettes women have performed 5 shows a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for more than 75 years.
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and numerous other American and Canadian cities is the most-watched live show in the USA, with more than 2.1 million spectators annually, when they are performing.
The Rockettes have performed annually at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (since 1957), The Columbus Day Parade, and America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. The NBC Rockefeller Center Tree-Lighting Ceremony also traditionally includes a performance by the dance troupe.
The Rockettes have also kicked off the announcements for new product lines launched by such diverse companies as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Oldsmobile, L'eggs hosiery, Mannington Floors, and Honda's 50th Anniversary show.
Their famous kick line started with 16 women and now has 36. They are all between 5′6″ and 5′10 1/2″ and are arranged tallest in the middle and shortest on the ends.
History
Early years
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. 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.
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." In 1927, they were called Roxyettes after the impresario Samuel 'Roxy' Rothafel, who was Radio City's entertainment director.
Their NYC debut was in Rothafel's own Roxy Theater on 50th and 7th, and under the name "Roxyettes". Rothafel moved them to their current stead, the opening of the Radio City Music Hall on December 27, 1932. In 1936, the troupe won the grand prize at the "Paris Exposition de Dance." Only later would they become the Rockettes. In many ways, they took over what the Ziegfeld Follies had been before Flo Ziegfeld's death.
During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXII in 1988, the Rockettes were seen by a television audience of 150 million viewers. President Bush's 2001 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony featured the leggy performers prancing down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The Rockettes have long been represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists. In 1967, they won a month-long strike for better working conditions, which was led by American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) salaried officer Penny Singleton. In August 2002, contract negotiations for the troupe's veteran members resulted in a buyout by the owners of The 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.
In November 2005, the Christmas Spectacular's musicians went on strike, although the show decided to go on, with the Rockettes dancing to recorded music. The strike was eventually settled, and everybody went back to work.
The oldest living Rockette is Jeanette Heller, 95, living in Toronto, Ontario.
Quotes on the Rockettes
| “ | The Rockettes are as precise and talented as ever, and their bright smiles and unison dancing evoke cheers and applause in old favorites like the "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers". The overwhelming appeal of the Rockettes is undeniable. | ” |
| “ | I had seen the John Tiller girls in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922. 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 knock your socks off! | ” |
Controversies
Discrimination and lack of diversity
The Rockettes were created in 1925, but the first non-white 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; selected in 1987, she made her debut in 1988 at the Super Bowl halftime show. The first person with a visible disability hired by the Rockettes (Sydney Mesher, missing a left hand due to symbrachydactyly), was hired in 2019.
Trump inauguration controversy
In late 2016, the Madison Square Garden Company, which manages the troupe, agreed to have the Rockettes perform at the inauguration of Donald Trump. According to a report in the New York Daily News, there was an initial "edict" to perform at the inaugural. Immediately several Rockettes dissented, including Rockette Phoebe Pearl who complained that she was being forced to perform at the inaugural against her wishes. 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."
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.
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!" In December 2016, according to The Atlantic, three of the thirteen full-time dancers had chosen to sit out the event. The company danced to a medley of Irving Berlin songs at the Inaugural Ball on the evening of January 20.
Notable former Rockettes
- Lucille Bremer
- Pat Colgate
- Maria Fletcher
- Jennifer Jones
- Suzanne Kaaren
- Alicia Luciano
- Margaret E. Lynn
- Joan McCracken
- Kandice Pelletier
- Suzanne Rogers
- Jane Sherman
- Vera-Ellen
- Keltie Knight
- Amanda Kloots
External links
- The Rockettes
- New York City Theatre Guide
- 75th Anniversary Coverage
- NY Times article
- metrotimes.com editorial
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