Rockettes kick off Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Photo credit: Diane Bondareff, Associated Press | In this photo provided by FAO Schwarz, Radio City Rockettes pose with the new Madame Alexander Rockette doll, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007, at FAO Schwarz in New York, which was designed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Rockettes.
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Jessie the Camel, along with his donkey and sheep pals, are settled into their quarters at Radio City Music Hall, ready for the traditional "Living Nativity" scene. Also gearing up to go onstage: 80 Rockettes - two teams of 36 dancers, plus swings - as the annual "Christmas Spectacular" gets under way for the 77th year.
MUSICAL NUMBERS Highlights of this year's show include "New York at Christmas," in which the Rockettes "travel" across the stage via Gray Line double-decker bus, as one of the world's largest LED screens flashes different city locations behind them.
In "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," which has been performed every year since 1933, the Rockettes fall aside like a chain of dominoes. In the finale, "Let Christmas Shine," each dancer wears a costume embedded with about 3,000 Swarovski crystals.
More than 1,200 costumes are worn in the Christmas Spectacular, with each Rockette switching outfits eight times.
HIGH-KICKER The latest "Spectacular" marks the Radio City debut of Synthia Link, a Rockette who was born, raised and still lives in Lindenhurst. In 2007, she performed the "Spectacular" in Phoenix. Last season, she was part of the 18-city Arena Tour.
Link studied jazz, tap and ballet at the June Claire School of Dance in Babylon. Getting to perform at the Music Hall makes her feel "like I have finally achieved my ultimate goal."
"I can vividly remember my first time seeing the Rockettes perform in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I was 7, and my grandmother and mother were taking me to see the show as a Christmas present. I remember stepping into the huge hall and being so overwhelmed with the size and grandeur of it all."
TOURS, TWITTER If you're coming to the city for the Spectacular, consider the theater's "Stage Door Tour," where guests are led around the Art Deco interior, learn about the "Great Stage" and tour the private apartment of Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel, who opened the theater in 1932 with a precision dance troupe called the "Roxyettes" . . . later, of course, renamed.
There are five additions to the tour this year, including an updated montage of images in the Rockette gallery and a video about the stage hydraulics. (Tour tickets, $10-$18.50. Call 866-858-0008.)
You also can keep up with the Rockettes via Twitter and Facebook, where the dancers make daily posts featuring pictures of the animal "load-in" at the theater or behind-the-scenes shots of appearances on TV shows.
WHAT The "Radio City Christmas Spectacular"
WHEN | WHERE Tomorrow to Dec. 30, Radio City Music Hall
INFO $45-$105. radiocitychristmas.com or 212-307-1000
