It’s 2025, and many members of Gen Alpha are focused on creating fun new dances for TikTok — but ask someone over 30 to start tearing it up like the Radio City Rockettes? They’d instantly know what move you expect them to bust out: The high kick, of course, something the iconic dancers perform more than 160 times per show.
Now an indelible part of the cultural consciousness, the dance troupe was formed in St. Louis back in 1925, making this year its 100th anniversary. Boasting the title of longest-running precision dance company in the U.S., the Rockettes started with just 16 members. This holiday season, 84 women have trained to perform at New York City’s opulent Radio City Music Hall.
Every year, the troupe dazzles over 1 million people, blending elements of jazz, ballet, and tap (their tap shoes actually get miked up, according to the New York Theater Guide). The dancers have appeared at some of the country’s biggest events, including — but by no means limited to — presidential inaugurations, the 1988 Super Bowl, the 2017 Tony Awards, and the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1957.
In honor of the Rockettes’ centennial, take a trip back with us through the dance company’s history.
How It Started
St. Louis choreographer Russell Markert launched the troupe as the Missouri Rockets in 1925. Later that year, the all-female dance group performed in New York City under the direction of a theater owner named S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel. He referred to the dancers as the Roxyettes and eventually brought them to New York, installing the ensemble at the newly opened Radio City Music Hall in 1932.
The Rockettes in 1935
Once at Radio City, the group became known as the Rockettes, and the first performance of the Christmas Spectacular, a now-annual tradition, took place in 1933. That’s when the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” number debuted, an act that’s still included in the show today. (Click here for a tutorial on the choreography.)
The “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” routine performed in 1955
In addition to the Spectacular, the dancers performed year-round back then, per NPR, as part of a variety show that took place before movies were played.
“It was like a four-hour ordeal,” Adrienne Gibbons Oehlers, a Rockette-turned-professor who’s writing a book about the troupe, told the outlet in May. “It would start with this organ prelude, these amazing organs that are still at Radio City today. There was a full ballet company. There was a glee choir. The Rockettes would do a number. Then they would all do this grand finale, and then they would show the movie.”
The Rockettes before boarding the ship that will take them to tour with the USO in 1945.
When World War II broke out, the dance troupe was among the first acts to volunteer to entertain servicemembers with the United Service Organizations, or USO.
How It’s Changed
According to The New York Times, late Rockettes founder Russell Markert stayed with the group for decades as their lead choreographer. By the time he retired in 1971, he’d served as a father-like figure for some 2,500 women, whom he referred to in Life as his “dancing daughters.”
Rockettes Tara Dunleavy Tubridy, Nicole Baker Luftig, Melinda Farrell, Danelle Morgan, Dani Betchel, and Traci Reszetylo in 2013
The first Black Rockette, Jennifer Jones, joined the company in 1987. Today, Danelle Morgan is one of the few Black members of the troupe — she’s been in the cast for 20 years and also serves as assistant choreographer and dance captain. “Year after year, I see more dancers that look like me, not just in the line, but in the auditions,” Morgan shared with NPR. “What I love about the company is I think that we’ve acknowledged that a lot of work needs to be done and that we’re taking the steps to do the work.”
While some things haven’t changed — “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” is still a showstopping staple, for instance — the choreography does get updated so that what happens onstage still excites and surprises even seasoned attendees.
“I always am looking to make sure the choreography feels up to date and keeping music fresh,” Christmas Spectacular director and choreographer Julie Branam explained, adding: “You’ll see 48 Santas onstage at once. You’ll see 36 Rockettes kicking. You’ll see camels. You just never know what you’re going to find here.”
Rockettes pose with a camel for the Christmas Spectacular’s Living Nativity in 2014
For six weeks leading up to the holiday season, the dancers rehearse six days a week, six hours a day (perhaps there’s something musically magical about that number?), but the grueling nature of the preparation is likely softened by the way in which the women support each other. According to the Rockettes website, the troupe is a sisterhood, and one that lasts for life: “Whether on the line for one year or 20 years, Rockettes know that once a Rockette, always a Rockette.”
In October, it was announced that Sphere Immersive Sound — “the world’s most advanced audio system,” per the Rockettes — will debut at Radio City Music Hall with this year’s Christmas Spectacular.
5 Fun Facts About the Rockettes
Rockettes must be within a certain height range
The Rockettes in 1958
In order to maintain the uniform look of the group, the height requirement for dancers was originally between 5 feet, 2 inches and 5 feet, 10.5 inches without shoes. The bottom end of that range was later changed to 5 feet, 6 inches and eventually 5 feet, 5 inches in 2022.
They do their own hair and makeup
@rockettes Fun fact: We actually do our own hair and makeup for every performance! 💋 #Rockettes #RockettesMakeup #IActuallyDidItMyself
♬ I did it myself – Keltie
That makeup must include a striking red lip, and hair must be done in a French twist for every show. “The only [makeup] stipulations or requirements that we have for the job are that you wear an eyelash and a red lip,” current Rockette Alexis Payton told People, adding that there are hair stations backstage where dancers bust out the hairsprays and bobby pins between numbers.
Costume changes must be completed in as little as 78 seconds
Per Mental Floss, the Rockettes must fly as fast as possible for costume changes, having to fit shoe, hat, and jewelry swaps into a 78-second time frame between the “Wooden Soldiers” and “Christmas in New York” numbers. And a bonus fact — the Santa outfits they wear during their “Here Comes Santa Claus” routine are the only ones that feature shoes with a flat heel.
There’s no upward age limit …
Every year, the Rockettes hold open call auditions (about 1,000 people signed up this year, per NPR). To join the tryouts, you must be at least 18 years old, but beyond that, there’s no upward age limit. As long as you’re able to meet rigorous physical demands of the auditions, you’re welcome to compete for a coveted spot in the troupe. In fact, per People, a 92-year-old named Mary Silvestri achieved her dream of auditioning back in 2023. Though she didn’t make the cut, she had a blast trying.
… But the audition process is no joke
Rockette hopefuls warm up before tryouts in 2024
Silvestri’s audition attendance is even more impressive when you learn how hardcore the tryouts actually are.
“The whole audition process was a shock to me the first time, because I didn’t know what I was getting into,” former Rockette Jacie Scott shared with Backstage. “The Rockettes make what they do look easy, and it’s not easy at all. I got a taste of that in the audition process. Learning four eight-counts that they give you in the audition process looks graceful and placed, but it takes a lot to execute it the way you’re supposed to.”
But regardless of how challenging the auditions are, the true key to getting noticed is simply staying authentic. When asked by the outlet in 2020 how a Rockette hopeful can stand out in the crowd, the company’s creative director, Karen Keeler, advised: “Be yourself.”
The Rockettes rehearse in October 2025
Feel like you’re a Rockettes aficionado after reading this article? Take a short quiz on the dance troupe’s website to test your knowledge.
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