- As a a child, I dreamed of dancing alongside the Radio City Rockettes.
- I was finally given the chance at 28 years old.
- During the class, four veteran Rockettes taught me part of their routine.
- I gained a whole new respect for these women and realized what they meant to me all those years ago.
For as long as I can remember, I've been a dancer. My mom enrolled me in ballet class when I was 5, thinking that hour of movement would keep me still the rest of the day. But her plan backfired: those classes only made me move more. At school, I'd tap my feet beneath the desk, keeping perfect time with the melody in my head. At home, I'd lock myself in the playroom and turn on music, performing for a large audience of unresponsive stuffed animals and Barbie dolls.
This passion for dance only grew as I explored other genres and was exposed to professional dance companies. But unlike my peers, I had no desire to be a Prima ballerina or even a Broadway baby. I wanted to be a Radio City Rockette.
The first time I saw the group perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, I thought it was my destiny to dance with them. Their energy and happiness were contagious to me, an already antsy and cheerful child. Their sequins-covered costumes were enviable to a girl who walked around in discarded dance costumes. Not to mention my last name — Rocketto — is a mere one letter off from Rockette. It was basically my birth right.
Unfortunately, there's this little thing called reality that tends to crush people's dreams. As the resident shorty, I knew I'd never meet the Rockette height requirement of 5' 6". I also had other passions, like writing and running, that took time away from dance as I got older. I quickly realized that being a Rocketto was the closest I would get to being a Rockette.
That is until I received an e-mail from the Rockettes' PR department asking if I'd like the chance to rehearse with and interview several members of the Rockettes. It's as if this woman was playing the role of Santa, and making my childhood wishes come true. Needless to say, I said yes.
All Rockette rehearsals start with a warm up — but it feels like a workout.
I arrived at the Rockette rehearsal space with nerves and excitement blending in my belly. Yes, I knew this was supposed to be a fun experience. But as a perfectionist and performer, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to blow these women away to the point that they'd adjust their height requirement just so I could join.
I was immediately greeted by a group of tall, bubbly women, each of whom was illuminated by their bright white smile. After exchanging hellos and names, we jumped into the warm-up.
I sauntered to the middle of the floor and planted my feet in preparation for the bending and stretching that I assumed would follow. That was my first embarrassing moment of the day.
"We're actually going to start here," Hanna Sides, the current Rockette dance captain, said as she pointed to the wall. She explained that we'd be doing dynamic movements across the room.
"We have a series of dynamic stretches that we use to prepare our body for the athletic choreography that we do in the show," Sides, who is a fitness instructor in the off-season, explained to me. These stretches include lunges, toe-touch kicks, and "the scoop"— a move where you bend one leg, straighten the other at an angle, and scoop your body down and up.
That's when I encountered my second embarrassing moment: struggling with the warm-up. With each step, a tightness crawled up my leg and left my mouth in the form of a high-pitched squeal of pain. As we moved back and forth across the gym, beads of sweat fell down my forehead. I always considered myself in shape, always striving to get the recommended amount of exercise every week. And maybe I was in shape, but not enough to keep up with these all-star athletes. Yes, athletes.
The Rockette's rehearsal schedule is comparable to professional athletes.
As we settled down for some static warm-ups, we started talking about life among the Rockettes. I quickly learned just how much work goes into creating a 90-minute performance.
"We rehearse seven hours a day, six days a week for six weeks leading up to the show," Rockette Danielle Betscher told me. During this time, the women learn and perfect their routines while forming what they call a "sisterhood of fitness."
It turns out, most of the Rockettes are fitness instructors or personal trainers in the off-season: something the whole company benefits from. Betscher explained that, in addition to their studio rehearsals, the women attend each other's yoga or barre classes, not only to build their stamina, but to bond.
"For us to do what we do on stage, it takes so much teamwork that we have to get along," Sides said. These type of outings help.
Of course, it also takes a certain level of athleticism, something audience members may not realize. When asked what the biggest misconception of the Rockettes is, the girls almost answer in unison.
"That it's easy," Rockett Lauren Gibbs said. "I just think we make it look so effortless, and it takes so much training, to make the look effortless."
The routines are made of simple, but fast, movements.
Finally, our bodies warmed, Sides told me it was time to dance. We'd be learning the choreography to "Let Christmas Shine," one of their more popular numbers. Despite my hatred for hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving, I couldn't hide my joy.
Sides placed me center in the second line — the valley among the mountains. I had a feeling she was setting me up for a moment in the spotlight, and I couldn't wait to take it.
But first, I had to the learn the routine. Given my background, Sides wasn't afraid to breeze through the choreography and speak in dancer-ese, using terms like bevel, ball change, and strut kicks, to name a few.
My knowledge, however, only got me so far. The choreography was performed at double time — what would normally be one count was two. Still, I managed to keep up with the quick weight changes, all while keeping a smile on my face. Not to toot my own horn, but the girls were impressed and said I did a good job. Unfortunately, that would change the minute we moved into a kickline.
The Rockettes perform more than 200 kicks a show, which requires stamina and skill.
As we stepped together to form one line, I knew the famous kick line was quickly approaching. Sides informed me that we'd be performing "eye-high kicks"— aka kicking our legs to eye-level. At 5' 2", I thought I'd have an advantage — my legs have less distance to cover, after all. But in the world of the Rockettes, height is the ultimate advantage.
But we weren't just kicking. We were kicking and jumping in unison. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that this was the third most embarrassing moment of the day.
As you can tell by the photo, my kicks were nowhere near eye-level. In fact, I don't even think they got to chest level. But I didn't let that hold me back. On every even count, my leg was going as high as I could will it to go. The sweat was streaming at this point, and my smile downsized as I huffed and puffed to keep up with the women besides me.
When we finished our 12 kick set — a small fraction of the 200-plus kicks they perform per show — I could feel my body rebelling. Even though I've kept up with dancing in my adult life, it was nothing compared to this. I was using arm, leg, and face muscles I never tapped into before.
But despite the pain that seared through my body, I loved what I was doing.
Dancing with Rockettes reminded me of the joy your passions can bring to yourself and others.
We wrapped up the choreography and performed the piece for our audience of two. Each time the music started, I was transported back in time to various moments in my life. I saw myself putting on a perfect show for my toys that couldn't even react. I saw myself stepping onto the stage of the local high school, scouring the crowd until I saw my mom wave at me. I saw myself dancing with my current friends for a sold-out crowd that cheers so loud we can barely hear the music.
I remembered all the times my dancing has excited someone, and I immediately became jealous of the four women next to me because they get to experience that every day.
"That's what keeps me coming back," Brooke Averi said. "And to know that I'm inspiring a whole generation of younger dancers to pursue their passions."
For Averi and the others, their experience with Rockettes has truly been a full circle moment. Because at one point in time, each of them was just like me: a young girl, staring at the woman in a sparkly dress wishing that could be her someday. Now, they are that woman to another girl out there.
"The first time I saw the Rockettes was on TV watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade," Sides said. "So that first time I got to perform in the parade, it was my dreams coming to fruition."
Unlike Sides, my dreams of being a Rockette never came true. Well, not officially. But maybe that was never the real dream. Maybe I just wanted to find something that I loved to do that would bring me and others joy. In that sense, my dream has become a reality.
And if there are any little girls out there who want to be a writer that dances for fun, I'm happy to be their role model.
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