Photo: MSG Entertainment/Victoria Lewis.
In “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” the 36 Rockettes on stage imitate the stiff movements of toy soldiers. This photo was taken during a dress rehearsal on November 6, 2024.
For many New Yorkers and visitors to New York, the holiday season is a time to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. I went there once as a child with my babysitter. We saw the Rockettes, and then we saw the featured movie. The movie was Million Dollar Mermaid, a biopic about an Australian swimming legend. It starred Esther Williams and it made a big impression on me. Maybe an even bigger impression than the Rockettes did.
But the Rockettes are a wonder of the world. And today’s article — from Popular Science, of all things — explains just how they do what they do.
Laura Baisas writes, “Every holiday season, the Radio City Rockettes dazzle with their eye-high kicks that seemingly defy gravity. During the precision dance company’s roughly 200 shows over eight weeks, a dancer can do up to 650 kicks in a single day. For all this kicking, Rockettes must stay in peak physical condition. While this signature kick is a festive feat of physics in its own right, the math on stage also makes the magic.
“The Rockette’s home at Radio City Music Hall in New York City first opened its doors in 1932. … With this storied stage history, it should come as no surprise that a show that has been running for close to a century continues to use some tried-and-true, but admittedly low-tech methods.
‘Our stage is set up like a giant piece of graph paper.’
“ ‘Our stage is set up like a giant piece of graph paper,’ Julie Branam, a former Rockette herself and the current director and choreographer of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, tells Popular Science. ‘Every two feet, there’s a number and a dash or a solid line. There are also colored lines, so you will see red, green, blue, white, and upstage of each one of those lines is a dotted line. So everywhere you look, is a giant piece of graph paper and that’s how we figure things out.’ …
“Rehearsals typically start in October and the whole show is plotted onto actual paper so that the choreographers and dancers can get an idea of how their dances will look from the audience. For example, the iconic ‘Parade of Wooden Soldiers‘ number is seven pages long for roughly five to six minutes of dancing.
“ ‘As we are learning choreography, I can sort of see almost an overhead visual of where my coordinate is,’ Danelle Morgan, a current Rockette who also serves as an Assistant Choreographer and Dance Captain, tells Popular Science. …
“ ‘Parade of the Wooden Soldiers’ is one of the original numbers from the show, which has been performed since the Christmas Spectacular first premiered in 1933. It’s a fan favorite, for its military-like steps and the iconic slow fall at the piece’s conclusion. …
“ ‘Every four counts they’re going to replace the line in front of them and we have 24 counts. And then that spoke [of the wheel] will revolve,’ explains Branam. ‘So you can really see where you’re going and know where everybody is and how far they’re traveling.’
“Choreographers will also use design softwares like OmniGraffle to create a digital version of these stage puzzles and plot the movements of the 36 dancers on stage. Each dancer follows an individual track, so she knows what order and where to go on the stage. Everyone is also lettered so that they can refer back to the plot points and quickly see where they need to be. Still, it’s all easier said than done on paper.
“ ‘As a dancer, I challenge my body so much, but each Rockette has to challenge their brain so much as well.’ … says Morgan. ‘When you step into this position, then it’s a completely different brain game and a different brain challenge. It’s puzzles.’ …
“Since uniformity is key to making the precise patterns that the Rockettes are famous for, the company has what are called swings. In performing, swings are sort of an understudy times 10, who has to learn multiple parts instead of just one. Morgan is currently one of 12 swings in the company. …
“ ‘We know every single Rockette’s individual track, with the help of our charts and the information that we get in rehearsal, so we’re ready to jump in at a moment’s notice,’ says Morgan. … ‘We can jump in costume and then give the audience the same show that they deserve every single show. It’s a high adrenaline situation every time.’
“The festive costumes might make being Rockette look glamorous, but it takes a lot of grit to be a Rockette. In addition to the precision of their dancing, costume changes as short as 78 seconds, and physical challenges, there is also the mental load of performing in up to four shows a day for eight weeks.
“That comes down to ‘training your resilience,’ putting mind over matter, and importantly, leaning on your fellow Rockettes when you think you just can’t do another kick. The special appearances at major events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting or working with younger dancers also help boost company morale.
“ ‘It’s just constantly having that reminder that what we do is something super unique that brings so much joy to so many people,’ says Morgan. ‘I think that helps us get through and keeps us motivated.’ “
More at Popular Science, here.
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