The Rockettes

For the Finnish synchronized skating team, see Rockettes (synchronized skating team).

The Rockettes performing at the Christmas Spectacular The Rockettes are known for their precision dance "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" at the Christmas Spectacular The Rockettes with US Navy sailors A Rockette in Radio City Music Hall Rockettes costumes

The Rockettes are a precision dance company performing out of the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York City. During the Christmas season, the Rockettes have performed five shows a day, seven days a week, for 77 years. Perhaps their best-known routine is an eye-high leg kick in perfect unison in a chorus line, which they include at the end of every performance.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is performed annually at Radio City Music Hall and in numerous other American and Canadian cities by a touring company of Rockettes. It is one of the most-watched live shows in the United States, with over 2 million viewers per year. The Rockettes perform annually at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (since 1957) and the America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. The NBC Rockefeller Center Tree-Lighting Ceremony also traditionally includes a performance by the dance troupe.

History

The group was founded in St. Louis, Missouri by Russell Markert in 1925, and originally performed as the "Missouri Rockets." Markert had been inspired by the John Tiller Girls in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922, and was convinced that "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!" The group was brought to New York City by Samuel Roxy Rothafel to perform at his Roxy Theatre and renamed the "Roxyettes." When Rothafell left the Roxy Theatre to open Radio City Music Hall, the dance troupe followed and later became known as the Rockettes. The group performed as part of opening night at Radio City Music Hall in 1932. In 1936, the troupe won the grand prize at the "Paris Exposition de Dance."

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,^[1] which was led by AGVA salaried officer Penny Singleton.^[2]

The first Asian Rockette, a Japan-born woman named Setsuko Maruhashi, was hired in 1985.^[3] The Rockettes did not allow African-Americans into the dance line until 1987.^[4] The justification for the policy against hiring African-Americans was that they would distract from the consistent look of the dance group.^[5] The first African-American Rockette was Jennifer Jones; she made her debut in 1988.^[6]

During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXII in 1988, the Rockettes were seen by a television audience of 150 million viewers. George W. Bush's 2001 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony featured the performers prancing down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Every Rockette must be between 5'6" and 5'10¹⁄₂" tall.

Discography

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

The Rockettes first became recording artists when they released the soundtrack to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in 1999/2000. The album however does not contain The Nutcracker. The tracklisting is as Follows:

• 1. Overture
• 2. Santa's Gonna Rock and Roll
• 3. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
• 4. The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
• 5. Here Comes Santa Claus
• 6. White Christmas in New York
• 7. The Man With The Bag
• 8. Toyland Ball
• 9. Welcome Christmas
• 10. Jing-A-Ling / Reindeer Dance / The Fly Away
• 11. The Living Nativity

The Radio City Rockettes

The Rockettes became Solo Recording Artists when they released their self-tiltled album in 2008. The tracklisting is as Follows:

• 1. Winter Wonderland
• 2. Jingle Bells
• 3. Merry Christmas Everybody
• 4. Blue Christmas
• 5. The Christmas Song
• 6. Let it Snow
• 7. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
• 8. Caribbean Christmas
• 9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• 10. Here Comes Santa Claus
• 11. Happy Christmas (War is Over)
• 12. Christmas Time is Here
• 13. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
• 14. White Christmas
• 15. Auld Lang Syne

Notable former Rockettes

• Lucille Bremer
• Blair Chenoweth
• Pat Colgate
• Maria Fletcher
• Suzanne Kaaren
• Alicia Luciano
• Margaret E. Lynn
• Kandice Pelletier
• Suzanne Rogers
• Jane Sherman

References

1. ^ "Accord is reached in Rockettes strike". New York Times. October 13, 1967. 
2. ^ "Penny Singleton". Wiegand Foundation. June 26, 2000. http://www.thewiegandfoundationinc.com/recip_info.php?name=39. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
3. ^ "Radio City Music Hall Rockette Setsuko Maruhasi". Asiance. http://www.asiancemagazine.com/dec_2007/radio_city_music_hall_rockette_setsuko_maruhashi. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
4. ^ Cohen, Adam (September 28, 2003). "Rock of Ages (review of Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center by Daniel Okrent)". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E5DE123AF93BA1575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
5. ^ Johnston, Laurie; Anderson, Susan Heller (March 30, 1983). "New York Day by Day; A Shift at the Music Hall". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E0D81039F933A05750C0A965948260. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
6. ^ "N.Y.'s Radio City Names First Black Rockette". Jet. January 18, 1988. http://books.google.com/books?id=b7sDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=%22the+first+black+rockette%22+jennifer+jones&source=bl&ots=K_dH7ihNG_&sig=tCFgn2tPKpIPjxbPllCLypEB8gw&hl=en&ei=UFJrTPHSMMP48AbBhOS8Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20first%20black%20rockette%22%20jennifer%20jones&f=false. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 

External links

Media related to The Rockettes at Wikimedia Commons

	New York City portal
	Dance portal

• Rockettes Official Website
• NY Times 2005 review of Radio City Christmas Spectacular
• Works by or about The Rockettes in libraries (WorldCat catalog)