The Rockettes are currently performing in the annual Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall, just like they did when you were a kid. Christmas is their busiest season, when they perform in five shows a day from Thanksgiving into the new year, after weeks of rehearsals. I had always thought the Rockettes' name was somehow connected to the name Rockefeller, but I was wrong. The troupe, then called the Missouri Rockets, was formed in St. Louis in the 1920s as an opening act for movies. A theater owner saw them and bought the troupe in 1925 and moved them to New York, where they again performed before movie showings, but their name was now the Rockettes. They were kicking up their heels before Radio City Music Hall ever opened.
The Rockettes have become a tradition in New York and on TV. They've performed in the Christmas Spectacular since 1933, and in the Macy's parade since 1957. Read about the Rockette's history, what they do, and what it's like to be one of them, at Smithsonian. Videos are included.