For a century, the Radio City Rockettes have inspired and dazzled audiences globally, and on the eve of their 100th anniversary, the dance troupe – famous for their synchronized high-kicking routines and headlining the annual Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in New York City – is back for another groundbreaking performance in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. But the past 100 years haven't been without myriad changes, as former Rockette Jennifer Jiles, and long-time dancer Joanna Richardson, tell HELLO!
"It was very different back then," laughs Jennifer, who was hired in 1992 as one of "Bruce's girls," 12 new girls who joined the troupe. At the time, the Rockettes would perform up to five shows a day, and there was no split schedule. "I would get in half an hour before the show because I had learned how to get just the right amount of makeup on so that we look good. As long as your eyes and your lips were good and your costumes were all set…. But we also had to weigh in before the season back then, as we were watched in a very different way."
Times have thankfully changed; the Rockettes are no longer weighed, and two units split the four shows a day, taking half each. But the Rockettes have also become stricter and more disciplined in other ways. Joanna, one of the leads for the 2025 celebrations, has been a Rockette for almost 20 years, and shares that to become a Rockette in 2025, you must be "proficient in ballet, tap, jazz, and high kicks". Joanna also arrives at the theater around two hours before show time to get her hair and make-up ready; all the Rockettes style their own hair and apply their own make-up.
The 2025 Christmas shows began in early November but rehearsals kick off in September, when the girls meet for six hours a day for six days a week, before they spend two weeks in the theatre bringing together the technical elements, including orchestra, costumes, and lights. "And then we're ready for a show, and we run through January, with up to four shows a day. It's Christmas for a long time for us!"
The Rockettes are synonymous with Christmas, but their contracts are yearly and provide them with year-round healthcare. They also perform during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and take part in numerous outreach programs throughout the year such as partnering with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and teaching during the all-expenses-paid conservatory program and preparatory program for young dancers.
Still, most of these women have second and even third jobs; Joanna is a pilates instructor who lives most of the year in Colorado. "I have studio owners that are very understanding of me stepping away for the time, and honestly, they're so proud of what I do," she says of needing to take three or four months away from her classes each year.
Both Joanna and Jennifer were trained dancers before they became Rockettes, and through the year the dancers continue to train in various art forms, including ballet, tap and jazz, to prepare for the yearly audition process; each Rockette has to try out again each year. "It helps us prove that we are still capable of handling the very intense expectations of the Christmas spectacular," says Joanna. "We do up to four shows a day, and close to 200 shows for the entire season, so we need to make sure we are strong enough to be able to endure a very intense rehearsal process and our lengthy show schedule."
It took Joanna three auditions before she was first cast in 2006, but she says that each new yearly audition helps her to "learn a little something new, something I could work and improve on… I still feel so honored and so privileged".
"Anybody can be technically good, but when putting together the best dancers in the world, their personalities have to blend in together," says Jennifer of the "it" moment that decides whether a dancer is accepted or not. "That's what's so iconic about the Rockettes, and that's why the audience gets so excited. It's the choreography, but the crescendo going into that kick line where everyone loses their minds."
The other big change has been the way that the troupe and its choreographers now work closely with the technical directors. The 2025 Christmas Spectacular marks the debut of Sphere Immersive Sound at Radio City, bringing the nearly 100-year-old venue into the modern age. "It's such a beautiful blend of tradition and technology," says Joanna of the 2025 show.
"We have numbers in the show like Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, and the Living Nativity, that have been in the show since it was created," says Joanna, "and then we have other numbers like our Frost Fairy Dance, where frost fairy drones fly out over the audience while the Rockettes are performing on stage. It's quite impressive, and we can hear the excitement from the audience."
Times change, but for the Rockettes one thing that will never change is their iconic kick line. "It's all core work and strength," Joanna shares about how they train to make it perfect for each show. "Our kick lines are extremely precise. Each kick involves taking your toe up to your eye level, and in the line-up you will notice that we have the taller girls in the center, and it cascades down to the shorter girls on the end, so it creates the illusion that we are all the same height."
And if you thought that the reason the girls hold each other's backs is to use them as grounding points, think again: "We don't actually touch each other in the kick line – we call it 'feeling the fabric.' The hand is only lightly feeling the fabric of the dancer next to you. You're certainly not pushing, grabbing, or wrapping onto them. You are holding your own self up there– even though we are, in spirit and energy, supporting each other."