2 Rockettes share details from behind the scenes
NEW YORK — One of the biggest draws in New York at this time of year is the “Christmas Spectacular,” featuring the iconic Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.
Everyone knows about their high kicks, but do you know how many calories each burns? What the dancers snack on? Where the best place in the line is?
Two veterans — Bailey Callahan of Melbourne, Florida, and Alissa LaVergne of Houston — reveal various backstage “secrets.”
The 80 Rockettes are split into two teams of 36 dancers and four standbys. The 36 women can fit shoulder to shoulder along the 66-foot stage. They perform eight dance numbers per show, up to four shows daily, 200 shows a season. The show produces 350 loads of laundry a week.
The 2017 Rockettes hail from 27 states, plus Canada and Australia. New Jersey sent the most dancers, 12. Ohio is next with six. Pennsylvania, Florida and California each have five; Michigan, New York and Arizona, four each; Maryland, three; Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Connecticut, Texas, Nebraska and Virginia, two each. Louisiana, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Washington, Kansas, Wisconsin, Alabama, Illinois, Utah, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, one each. Two come from Australia, five from Canada.
Rockettes must stand between 5 feet 6 and 5-10½ and be proficient at tap, jazz and ballet. Candidates must be ready to do 3,000 eye-high kicks a show. One Rockette used
a fitness tracker and discovered that she burned 1,000 calories every show. “When we do four shows a day, that’s a lot of pizza that we get to eat,” Callahan said.
How do they all appear to be the same height? Heels? Optical illusion? “We put the taller girls in the center and gradually go down to the shorter girls on the end,” LaVergne said. “There’s a bit of an illusion, but it’s actually really simple.” The costumes are made proportionately, helping the illusion.
During high kicks, how tightly do the Rockettes hold onto each other? Prepare to be astonished: “We actually don’t touch each other,” LaVergne said. The dancers just lightly brush the women beside them with outstretched arms. They call it “feeling the fabric.” That ensures they’re in line without pushing or leaning.
It doesn’t matter. “Whether you’re on the end or the center, you’re still kicking on your own,” LaVergne said. Each dancer relies on back muscles, core strength and hamstring and quad power, not pushing off another dancer. “Whether you’re standing on 0 or 36, you’re going through the exact same experience,” Callahan said.
Between the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “New York at Christmas,” the Rockettes have just 78 seconds to change outfits. That means taking off socks, shoes, pants, jackets, gloves, cheeks and hats, and then putting on dresses, shoes, jackets, earnings, gloves and new hats. Cheeks? The Rockettes wear red cloth cheeks for “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “Rag Dolls” for rosy complexions.
Rockettes eat everything. Catered foods include proteins, veggies, salads, carbs and desserts. Bottles of sports drink Powerade, a sponsor, are everywhere. In her dressing room, LaVergne has chips, popcorn, yogurt and apples. Callahan’s go-to snack is a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich. She also has a stash of M&Ms.
The dancers are onstage in reindeer costumes, with the overture playing; they’re hidden by a curtain. Some stretch, some pray, some test their antler lights. Others do a clap routine or high-fives or dance with a friend. Callahan does three splits, every time. “Because it’s so perfect and precise onstage once the curtain opens,” LaVergne said, “to see everyone doing something different is hysterical.”
Vitamins, water, rest, good nutrition, CleanWell hand sanitizer. LaVergne likes Emergen-C packets. Callahan is partial to electrolyte tablets. Yearround, Callahan likes yoga, Pilates and barre classes. LaVergne leans toward boot camp, boxing and interval training.
Many dancers take an ice bath before heading home. Callahan sits in a tub in 45-degree water to reduce inflammation.
The tapping is genuine. For the tap-dancing numbers “Rag Dolls” and “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” wireless microphones are hidden in the arches of their tap shoes.
For Callahan, it was a 2013 fall onstage, opening night in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” tap number: “It felt like an eternity on the floor but was probably two seconds. You had to keep smiling, keep going, pretend like nothing ever happened.” LaVergne recalled the time a fellow Rockette’s shoe came off during a high kick and went sailing — luckily away from the audience. She kept going. Santa picked up the shoe like nothing happened.
It doesn’t happen. The show demands absolute precision and teamwork. There’s no room for veterans to make freshmen feel lousy. Advice? Maybe. But no bullying. “We’re all in it together,” LaVergne said. “If you don’t have that camaraderie and ... that bond, it will show onstage.”