Stuff You Should Know

Selects: Rockettes: Still Kicking After All These Years

November 22, 2025

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  • The legendary Rockettes of New York City and Radio City Music Hall were originally founded in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Rockets by choreographer Russell Markert, who was inspired by the British Tiller Girls. 
  • The Rockettes' signature precision dance technique is rooted in the work of John Tiller, and the group's height requirements have evolved to maintain the optical illusion of uniformity on stage. 
  • The Rockettes faced grueling performance schedules, especially in the 1950s (performing up to five times a day), and their home, Radio City Music Hall, was nearly demolished in the 1970s before being saved and designated a landmark. 

Segments

Podcast Intro and Sponsor Reads
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode of Stuff You Should Know is a ‘Selects’ featuring a classic discussion on the Rockettes.
  • Summary: The episode begins with sponsor messages for Ntivio and Untold Stories, followed by an advertisement for Capital One banking. Host Chuck introduces this ‘Selects’ episode, noting it is about the Rockettes and their history, which started in Missouri.
Rockettes Origin and Precision Dance
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(00:02:28)
  • Key Takeaway: The Rockettes were founded in St. Louis in 1925 by Russell Markert, who modeled their precision dance technique after the British Tiller Girls.
  • Summary: Russell Markert founded the group, originally called the St. Louis Rockets, in 1925 after being inspired by the Tiller Girls, who invented precision dance. Precision dance involves highly trained dancers moving in such unison that they appear as one entity capable of feats an individual dancer cannot perform. Markert aimed to surpass the Tiller Girls by using American dancers with longer legs for higher kicks.
Height Requirements and Illusion
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(00:08:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The Rockettes’ current height requirement range (5'6" to 5'10.5") is designed to create an optical illusion where all dancers appear to be the same height.
  • Summary: Original height requirements were narrower (5'2" to 5'6"), but the current range is set so the tallest dancer can be centered and the others staggered to look uniform. The hosts acknowledge the difficulty in understanding how this visual illusion works across 36 dancers.
Move to New York and Radio City
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(00:09:46)
  • Key Takeaway: S.L. Roxy Rothafell brought the troupe to New York City, renaming them the Roxyettes for their debut at the newly opened Radio City Music Hall in 1932.
  • Summary: After performing on Broadway, Roxy Rothafell secured the dancers for the 1932 opening of Radio City Music Hall, calling them the Roxyettes after his nickname. Radio City Music Hall remains the nation’s largest theatrical venue, seating 6,200 people. Initially, the Rockettes performed a different routine before every movie screening, requiring them to learn new choreography rapidly.
Grueling Schedule and National Fame
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(00:13:43)
  • Key Takeaway: The Rockettes began performing for troops via the USO in the 1940s and reached wider fame after joining the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1957.
  • Summary: The demanding schedule in the 1950s, sometimes involving up to five shows daily, led to the construction of a dormitory for the dancers. Their appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1957 brought their high-kicking performances into American living rooms nationwide.
1970s Crisis and Road Shows
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(00:20:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Radio City Music Hall faced potential demolition in the 1970s due to strict movie booking policies, but public outcry, including from John Belushi, helped save the building, which is now a protected interior landmark.
  • Summary: During the 1970s, Radio City Music Hall struggled, mirroring the fate of other movie palaces, and was almost turned into a parking lot. The Rockettes gained the right to take their show on the road, finding success in venues like Las Vegas and Tahoe, where Sammy Davis Jr. became a notable fan.
Dancer Life and Union Status
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(00:33:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Being a Rockette is extremely demanding, requiring dancers to perform up to 1,200 high kicks in a single day during the holiday season, but the union gig offers year-round benefits and significant pay for the short season.
  • Summary: Rockettes are unionized and typically earn around $40,000 for the few months of work, which includes overtime pay from multiple daily shows. Dancers must maintain extreme physical condition, including executing a costume change in 78 seconds between numbers. The organization prioritizes uniformity, meaning there are no individual stars; the Rockettes as a unit are the main attraction.
Modernization and Diversity
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(00:44:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Under director Linda Haberman, the Rockettes show has been updated to address past criticisms regarding objectification and lack of diversity, which included a long delay in hiring women of color.
  • Summary: Linda Haberman, taking over in the mid-2000s, introduced more pro-feminist themes and visual effects to modernize the show. Historically, the troupe avoided dancers of differing skin tones to maintain visual unity, with the first woman of color joining in 1985 and the first African-American woman in 1988.
Listener Mail and Show Wrap-up
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(00:50:26)
  • Key Takeaway: A listener detailed his experience volunteering as a scent decoy for a search and rescue dog team, highlighting the dog’s ability to perfectly retrace his deliberately confusing trail.
  • Summary: The listener, Ryan, tried various tactics like running in circles and rolling in garbage to fool a search and rescue dog, but the dog successfully followed his trail step-by-step. Ryan received a shout-out for his girlfriend, Taryn, as the hosts wrapped up the episode.