What does it take to be a Rockette? Inside the grueling…

The Radio City Rockettes have brought holiday joy with their precision dance technique for 100 years. But what does it take to be one of the country’s most elite and disciplined dancers?

Daily Mail was given unprecedented access inside early morning rehearsals ahead of the 2025 Christmas Spectacular, bearing witness to their dedication and precision in action.

Dressed in uniform black leggings and black vest tops with ‘The Rockettes‘ emblazoned in gold gemstones, all 84 dancers were raring to go as they displayed their meticulously synchronized movements.

After being counted in, they demonstrated lines of seemingly perfect movement while Christmas music blasted from a speaker. Then the music stopped, but they were expected to hold their positions for another beat or two.

To the untrained eye, the routines were already totally refined, but the teachers had their notes and asked the troupe to make slight adjustments to their hick kicks or to ‘open up their true V’ or to make sure their arms were parallel during a particular move.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail after training, Julie Branam, The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular director and choreographer, revealed what credentials the dancers must have to even have a shot of joining the troupe.

She said: ‘First off, you have to be a great dancer, an all-around dancer because they’re so diverse in their movement. They do all different kinds of dance, but ballet, tap and jazz are essential.

‘And then you have to be a smart dancer. By smart I mean you have to be able to take directions, use the mirrors and fix yourself because there are 84 people in the room and we need everybody to work together.

‘I also look for somebody who has a good sense of humor and is excited and happy to be dancing.’

Branam said that not every great dancer makes for a great Rockette, explaining that learning the production is much more than mastering the moves themselves.

She explained: ‘Our stage is a giant piece of graph paper and there are numbers and lines every two feet in every direction you look, so you have to be able to move how far we tell you to move, to make the pictures right for the formations.

‘It’s not just the dance steps, you have to be great at that, but you have to be able to do the formations and do all the other things that come with it.’

Branam added: ‘Then you have to be consistent, and consistency over 100 plus shows is a real big thing.’

The Rockettes are already weeks into their training for this year’s shows, which begin on November 6.

Megan Kelley-Crocco is a professional dancer from Connecticut and is in her 11th year as a Radio City Rockette.

She knows just how demanding the job can be.

‘I think the schedule is very rigorous,’ she said. ‘We rehearse six hours a day, six days a week, and it’s learning how to stay strong and build the stamina so that we can work together as one unit and deliver that beautiful precision that the audience sees day in day out.

‘To be in there with your best friends makes it so much fun and even on the days where we may feel a little sore, we’re just so excited to spread Christmas joy.’

Founded in St. Louis in 1925, the Rockettes are the longest-running precision dance company in America.

They have appeared at some of the biggest events in entertainment and American history over the last century.

The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes kicks off on November 6 at Radio City Music Hall and runs until January 4.

‘This year we’ve got some classic elements,’ Kelley-Crocco said.

‘We’ve got Parade of the Wooden Soldiers which is my absolute favorite number in the show, it’s the epitome of strength and teamwork and its been in the show since 1933.

‘We also have some new elements that I’m really excited to share with everyone.’

Additionally, the 2025 production also marks the debut of Sphere Immersive Sound at Radio City – the same groundbreaking sound system as Sphere in Las Vegas.

Whether in the front row of the orchestra or the back of the third mezzanine, audiences will hear every instrument, every note, and every tap sound with perfect clarity and at the same volume, immersing them in a holiday wonderland like never before.

‘It is such a legacy this 100th year anniversary of The Rockettes,’ choreographer Branam enthused.

‘I’m especially excited for a lot of our legacy Rockettes that are coming in. Once you’re a Rockette, you’re always a Rockette.’