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37-765: The Radio City Rockettes are an American precision dance company . Founded in 1925 in St. Louis , they have, since 1932, performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City . Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular , an annual Christmas show, and for performing annually since 1957 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The Rockettes were originally inspired by

74-584: A chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks, they'd really knock your socks off." They were originally called the Missouri Rockets, and they began performing in 1925 at the Missouri Theatre in St. Louis . After the impresario Roxy brought them to New York for his Roxy Theatre , they were called

111-564: A colored girl." Markert's guidelines extended eight decades into the 20th century. In 1982, its director and choreographer, Violet Holmes, defended the RCMH Rockettes’ lack of diversity on artistic grounds when questioned by The New York Times on why no African American dancer had ever been chosen for the line. Holmes explained that the Rockettes had a rich history as a precision line, and its girls needed to act as mirror images on

148-493: A day, usually for a week. Rockettes would often have days that started at seven AM and lasted until after ten PM. After each showing of the movie running at the theater, there would be a performance involving variety acts, the former ballet company that existed at Radio City until 1974, and finally the Rockettes. Each Rockette would work for three weeks straight and then have a week off. Russell Markert choreographed kicklines that always featured sixteen eye-high kicks, determining that

185-527: A month into its planned runtime. Too many members of the cast and crew, who were recommended but not required to wear masks or test, caught the virus, leading to the cancellation of the show. [REDACTED] Media related to The Rockettes at Wikimedia Commons Dance company There is evidence that shows the start of dance troupes in Roman and Greek times. These groups were originally for musicals and performed in theatres. Dance troupes would perform for

222-412: A particular event, including the inaugural. It is always their choice. In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available." Another report suggested that dancers were allowed to "opt-out" if they thought that they would feel uncomfortable performing. Many on social media believed attendance was mandatory, including Julissa Sabino, a performer who

259-520: Is an American dancer and actress. In 1987, she became the first African American Radio City Music Hall Rockette . Jones was born on August 1, 1967, in Newark, New Jersey and was raised in Randolph , where she attended Randolph High School and County College of Morris . In 1987, when she was 20 years old, Jones auditioned to be a Radio City Music Hall Rockette at a Rockettes Open Call. She made

296-465: Is part of the union, who tweeted that the issue "breaks my heart" and urged supporters to "help these ladies." Autumn Withers, a former Rockette, supported a boycott, saying "take a knee, ladies!" In December 2016, according to The Atlantic , three of the thirteen full-time dancers had chosen to sit out the event. The company danced to a medley of Irving Berlin songs at the Inaugural Ball on

333-521: The Rockette Alumnae Association . Jones crossing the color barrier in 1987 ended a longstanding Radio City Music Hall policy against hiring African Americans for its Rockettes’ chorus line so as not to distract from its hallmark of perfectly-synchronized precision and rigid color uniformity. The rule was set-down in 1925 by Russell E. Markert when he founded the Rockettes dance company in St. Louis with its chorus line modeled on

370-823: The Tiller Girls , a precision dance company of the United Kingdom established by John Tiller in the 1890s. Tiller sent the first troupe of Tiller Girls to perform in the United States in 1900, and eventually there were three lines of them working on Broadway. In 1922, choreographer Russell Markert saw one of these troupes, known as the Tiller Rockets, perform in the Ziegfeld Follies and was inspired to create his own version with American dancers. As Markert would later recall, "If I ever got

407-571: The Grand Prix. The Rockettes have long been represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). In 1967, they won a month-long strike for better working conditions, which was led by AGVA salaried officer Penny Singleton . In August 2002, contract negotiations for the troupe's veteran members resulted in a buyout by the owners of Radio City Music Hall. Roughly a fourth of the veteran Rockettes were offered retirement options, while

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444-704: The New York City Human Rights, Marcella Maxwell, opined that the Rockettes were not fully reflecting the richness of New York City's diverse racial and ethnic populations, but underlined that no discrimination complaints had been filed against the company for its longstanding policy. Radio City Music Hall countered the criticism, stating that the lack of diversity was based on the infrequency and rarity of Rockettes' job openings, and that when auditions were advertised, they specifically placed ads in black, Hispanic, and Asian publications to encourage minority dancers to audition. Jones’ national debut with

481-846: The RCMH Rockettes was on Sunday, January 31, 1988 during the National Football League Super Bowl XXII halftime show at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, in a game between the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos . Produced by Radio City Music Hall, the theme was "Something Grand", and was intended to break from the "traditional baton-twirling approach" of past halftime shows, as explained by Barnett Lipton, Radio City Music Hall's special events coordinator. He added that

518-699: The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. During Jones’ penultimate year with the RCMH Rockettes, she performed in the ensemble of the 2001 Broadway revival of 42nd Street , which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical that year. She was one of three African American women to be cast in the show. In 2016, Jones was honored by The Harlem School of the Arts with a world premiere tribute called “The Harlem City Music Hall Dance Spectacular”, written and directed by Aubrey Lynch II ,

555-493: The Rockettes presented a dance training program called the Rockettes Summer Intensive. This weeklong dance education program offered aspiring dancers the opportunity to train with current Radio City Rockettes and choreographers and learn choreography from the Rockettes repertoire. Now, the Rockettes run their very own Dancer Development Program, a name for their combined efforts to bring more diversity onto

592-400: The Rockettes were inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame . The first non-white Rockette, a Japanese-born woman named Setsuko Maruhashi , was not hired until 1985. The Rockettes did not allow dark-skinned dancers into the dance line until 1987. The justification for this policy was that such women would supposedly distract from the consistent look of the dance group. In 1982, Violet Holmes,

629-598: The Roxyettes. They were billed as such when Roxy brought them to Radio City Music Hall for its opening in December 1932. It was only later that the name of the company changed to the Radio City Rockettes. For decades, the schedule of a Radio City Rockette was much different than in the modern day. Until 1979, Radio City Music Hall had a movie/show format, in which a movie was shown at the theater four times

666-475: The ability to perform 20 eye-level kicks while retaining proper posture.” She had a fifteen-year career with the RCMH Rockettes, which included a national tour and televised performances such as Comic Relief IV , an HBO TV special from May 12, 1990, filmed at Radio City Music Hall, which featured Billy Crystal , Whoopi Goldberg , and Robin Williams with the RCMH Rockettes. In 2002, she retired and joined

703-425: The calls for change have become broader and deeper, encompassing issues of race, gender and predatory behavior. And many of today’s critics are young studio directors and convention faculty members — artists who grew up in this world, have witnessed both its power and its problems, and understand how to use social media to sound the alarm." Dance troupes or dance companies have been on multiple different TV shows over

740-687: The color barrier with the RCMH Rockettes, she had paved the way for the next generation of trailblazers. In August 2018, Jones was appointed an "O Mag Insider" by O, The Oprah Magazine . Jones has also garnered recognition for her children's book On the Line: My Story of Becoming the First African American Rockette , documenting her journey in dance. She is also preparing to unveil her memoir, Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience , in spring 2025, both published by HarperCollins. Moreover, Jones has developed

777-550: The crowd usually started applauding between the eighth and the twelfth kick. In 1957, the Radio City Rockettes performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the very first time, and they have performed there every year since. For decades, they performed exclusively in the parade and at Radio City Music Hall, with the exception of the Paris Exposition in 1937, at which their sixteen-minute piece won

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814-832: The cut and became the dance company's first African American Rockette in its then-62-year history. She was chosen out of 221 women who had auditioned for the 26 open spots on the coveted line. Out of the 23 other women who were contracted for on-call vacancies in the New York City production, she was the only African American. At 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, she fulfilled the RCMH requirement that its Rockette dancers must be between 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 5 ft 10.5 in (1.791 m) in stocking feet, as well as being proficient in ballet, tap, and jazz repertory. Other requirements, according to The New York Times , included, “a slender figure, long legs, and

851-500: The director at the time, insisted that precision was all about uniformity, and having dancers of color would be distracting. The first African American Rockette was Jennifer Jones ; selected in 1987, she made her debut in 1988 at the Super Bowl XXII halftime show. The first person with a visible disability hired by the Rockettes (Sydney Mesher, missing a left hand due to symbrachydactyly ) was hired in 2019. From 2002 to 2019,

888-664: The evening of January 20. Although the Radio City Christmas Spectacular has been a constant every holiday season since 1979, there have been several attempts to mount a warm-weather show with the Rockettes. In the spring of 2015, Radio City launched the New York Spring Spectacular, and in the summer of 2016, produced the New York Spectacular, in an attempt to draw in audiences outside the holiday season. Neither show

925-551: The group of Conservatory hopefuls. In late 2016, the Madison Square Garden Company , which manages the troupe, agreed to have the Rockettes perform at the inauguration of Donald Trump . According to a report in the New York Daily News , there was an initial "edict" to perform at the inaugural. Immediately several Rockettes dissented, including Rockette Phoebe Pearl who complained that she

962-661: The high class as a form of entertainment. As music evolved so did the types of dance troupes. In more recent years, dance troupes are seen on musical television programs. In the New York Times article, Sequins and Soul-Searching in the Competitive Dance World, Margaret Fuhurer discusses the backlash dance companies have received in recent years. Fuhurer states, "For decades, the industry has attracted criticism for its exclusionary costs, high-pressure environments and sexualization of children. Recently, however,

999-475: The line by reaching out and working with organizations like the Ailey School, teaching classes at Boston Conservatory, and, most notably, their new Conservatory program. Dancers who make it all the way to the end of the audition at Radio City each April are invited to come and study at Radio City for a week at no cost. Housing and shoes are provided, and several dancers are often hired to join the company from

1036-524: The precision dance style inspired by early 20th century dance troupes such as the Ziegfeld Follies and the Folies Bergère . As its chief choreographer, Markert sought absolute precision and uniformity in the movements of the dancers through syncopated, intricate steps based on soft-shoe and tap. Every dancer was required to move as one unit. Markert also forbade his dancers from sun-tanning, explaining that, “it would make her [the dancer] look like

1073-467: The remaining dancers were offered the opportunity to re-audition. One of the Rockettes’ trademarks is their height requirement. I n the earlier years the cutoff was between 5 ft 2 in (1.6 m) and 5 ft 6.5 in (1.7 m), but was between 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) and 5 ft 10.5 in (1.8 m) until 2022 in stocking feet to give off the illusion of each girl being

1110-499: The same height. In 2022, the Rockettes lowered the minimum height to 5 ft 5 in (1.7 m). Rockettes must be proficient in tap, modern, jazz and ballet. The size of the original Roxyettes troupe was 16 women, but its numbers have grown since 1925. By the time they moved to Radio City Music Hall, Markert had a line of forty-seven dancers, thirty-six of whom danced at a time. There are currently 84 Rockettes: two casts with thirty-six dancers and twelve "swings." On August 1, 2007,

1147-433: The same person without explicit job titles, while a ballet company , for example, is often larger and has a more defined set up. Many dance companies hire professional dancers to work for them. These dancers will perform in the concert, showcase, or performance the company is putting together. Company dancers can be hired for long periods of time. Jennifer Jones (Rockette) Jennifer Jones (born August 1, 1967)

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1184-563: The school's dance director. The show was inspired by Jones’ RCMH Rockettes legacy and barrier-breaking milestone, and featured The Harlemettes, The Harlem Rockets, and the Harlem School of the Arts Dance students. The story followed Little JJ on her quest to becoming a Rockette, an aspirational allegory of how dreams can be realized through determination, courage, hard work, and talent. At the event, Jones acknowledged that by crossing

1221-529: The stage. She continued, “One or two black girls in the line would definitely distract. You would lose the look of precision, which is the hallmark of the Rockettes.” The company faced backlash from civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the City Council's Black and Hispanic Caucus for its lack of diversity, particularly noticeable against New York City's multicultural landscape. The chairwoman of

1258-611: The theme was a spinoff of the year 1988. “We've come up with a show that's all 88 – 88 pianos, each with 88 keys, and the 88 greatest legs in show business.” The 12-minute spectacle showcased 1,200 performers, which included 44 Rockettes, 400 swing band members, 300 Jazzercisers , 88 tuxedoed pianists simultaneously playing on 88 Kimball grand pianos, and two college marching bands ( San Diego State and USC ). R&B singer Chubby Checker sang his hit song, The Twist . The pianists performed an adapted version of Edvard Grieg 's Piano Concerto in A minor , Op. 16, accompanied by

1295-465: The years of reality television. These shows include: America's Got Talent – Including but not limited to, Urban Crew Flyers, Just Jerk, Zurcaroh, V.Unbeatable, Beyond Belief Dance Company, John Green High School Dance Team, Fusion Japan, and MPLUSPLUS. America's Best Dance Crew – Including but not limited to, Jabbawockees, Super Cr3w, We Are Heroes, Poreotics, I.aM.mE, and Elektrolytes. In small companies several of these functions will be carried out by

1332-439: Was being forced to perform at the inaugural against her wishes. One Rockette felt reluctant to "perform for this monster", referring to president-elect Donald Trump , and another said she "wouldn't feel comfortable standing near a man like that in our costumes." Madison Square Garden issued a statement saying that "For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at

1369-459: Was ever reproduced, citing difficulties with filling up Radio City Music Hall’s nearly 6,000 seats without the nostalgia and tradition that bring audiences in during the holidays. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular was canceled for the first time in its history. The following year, the 2021 Radio City Christmas Spectacular was canceled in mid-December, only

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