March 3, 2001
Dorothy Betts Theatre
2:05pm
I have been dancing for 17 years. I’ve taken everything from jazz to tap to ballet to baton to acrobatics, and I have attended numerous master classes with various dance organizations. I even danced competitively for eight years, spending the majority of my weekends in auditoriums across western Pennsylvania. Sufficed to say, I was excited to take a master class with the Rockettes instead of my usual Saturday afternoon routine.
I envisioned the class having 25 experienced dancers all dressed in leotards and tights, focused and ready to dance. But I was quite surprised when the registered group of dancers was only 12 women, including me.
I took a spot on the stage and began to stretch, not really talking to the other women. After a few minutes, one of the two Rockettes in attendance called the room to attention and explained the schedule for class. Everyone would learn a jazz and tap combination in addition to the famous Rockette kick line.
The jazz combination was taught first, taken from an actual Rockette Radio City Hall performance. It had a bit of a Latin flare to the routine, due to the Ricky Martin craze, no doubt. The instructor took her time teaching the routine, helping those who didn’t quite get the steps at first. She also stressed the importance of precision in the choreography. The Rockettes are known for their synchronized dances, so if one Rockette’s hand is placed on her hip the wrong way she sticks out like a sore thumb. It took just 30 minutes to learn the jazz combination, and we broke into two groups to perform the routine with the music.
We learned the kick line combination next. The kick line routine was just one minute long. The music’s tempo was upbeat, and the ending of high kicks was so fast we could not keep up. We finally nailed it despite the fact everyone was out of breath from all the kicks.
A short, simple tap combination to a New York melody was the last routine we learned. I have not tapped since I came to GW, so it was a nice chance to brush up, or rather shuffle, into tapping again. Once we learned all three routines, the 12 of us were given the chance to be part of a mock-audition. After the mock-audition, the Rockettes gave a Q and A session.
I learned some interesting Rockettes secrets. When the dancers are on stage it may look like they are all the same height, but they actually range in height from 5 feet 5.5 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. This was good news to me if I ever wanted to be a Rockette, because my 5-feet-8-inch frame would put me right in the middle. I was also told that during lessons the Rockettes do not hold on to one another when they kick. This means that they rely completely on their abdominal and leg muscles to get those kicks eye-high.
Even though I have given up on my childhood dream of dancing on Broadway, it is still nice to know that I can enjoy a master class. Now I can go home over Spring Break and say, “Guess what, Mom? I danced with the Rockettes!”
