The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular

It is exactly what you expect.

Seeing the Rockettes for their annual Christmas show was one of the main reasons we went to New York in December and it was definitely worth it! There is so much anticipation from the audience as we all penguin waddled as a crowd into the Radio City Music Hall. It’s magical to walk around the venue while knowing what an icon the Radio City and its Rockettes are in New York and around the globe. I got my popcorn bucket ready and then the lights went down…..

As the curtains rose a great cheer erupted from the audience as children and adults alike waited for the show to begin and then the popular man in the big red suit turned up. The visual effects are as stunning as the story is cheesy and in terms of production, no expense is spared. Not only are there multiple moving set pieces and hundreds of props there are also live animals brought out for the nativity scene. Personally, the best element for me in the show was the Rockettes.

They are a very select group of female dancers who perform a series of precise routines, complete with jingle bells and reindeer ears. The fan favourite routine is the ‘Parade of the Wooden Soliders’ which has been a part of the show since its creation in 1933. The performance ends with a cannon ball going off onstage. What follows is a suspenseful few minutes in which the Rockettes, one by one, fall into each other until the last soldier has fallen. The audience went silent in awe as they watched the soldiers fall in a perfect line, not one falling out of place.

After the show we were lucky enough to be invited backstage by personal invitation of a Rockette. We got given a behind the scenes tour of the stage, how the props are managed and how the set is stored. It was incredible to see the amount of work and crew members required to stage the show each day. It was also great to be given a perspective of how the audience would look from the view of the stage.

If you ever come to New York in December I seriously recommend seeing this show. It is a cheesy, fun loving family event, spilling out countless Christmas classics and holiday cheer.