This story is featured in CityBeat’s Nov. 15 print edition.
Two of the 84 dancers in the Radio City Rockettes, America’s longest-running precision dance company, are from Cincinnati. This year, the Radio City Rockettes have four sets of sisters in the company, two of whom are from Cincinnati. Danielle and Jordan Betscher, Rockettes of several years, started dancing in Cincinnati. Danielle Betscher spoke with CityBeat about her experience as a Rockette, her start in Cincinnati and the upcoming “Christmas Spectacular” in New York City.
CityBeat: What was it like for you growing up in Cincinnati?
Danielle Betscher: I started dancing in Cincinnati at Just Off Broadway. At the time that was John Meyers School of Dance, but it is Just Off Broadway now. I got my training started there when I was four, and danced basically my whole life growing up. I was in competition dance, so we did a lot of different competitions and things like that growing up. But I also was able to dance with the Cincinnati Ballet; I was in their The Nutcracker for seven years, I believe. And I did almost every child role you can there from a party girl to a soldier. So that was really awesome getting to be embedded in Cincinnati art and dance. Life was full of dance growing up. And I saw the Rockettes at [age] 13 for the first time in Nashville, and they were pretty spectacular there. That was the moment I knew I wanted to be professional and go on to be a dancer when I grew up. It was the moment when I said that’s what I have to do.
CB: What do you love about Cincinnati?
DB: Cincinnati is where my family’s from. I’ve lived there basically my whole life. And Cincinnati Ballet was a huge thing growing up, not only performing with the company, but also getting to see them in their shows. I loved the opera as a kid as well; I went to see that quite frequently. And we were always going to the Aronoff Center for various performances. And also, go Bengals, obviously.
CB: What was the audition process like to become a Rockette?
DB: “I first auditioned at 17. You actually have to be 18 years old to make it as a Rockette. But I heard that you could get a bit of experience at the audition if you were a little younger. So I showed up for the first time when I was 17. And I actually made it to the end of that audition. The process is very rigorous. It’s two to three days of dancing. You audition in tap, ballet, jazz, as well as the eye-high kicks. And it’s just a consistent two or three days of making cuts. Sometimes it’d be almost 1,000 women that would audition all the way down to who they end up really eyeing for a position. So that was my first time auditioning. Of course, I couldn’t make it that year because I wasn’t 18. But then the following year, I auditioned twice, once at the April audition, and then once at the August audition. And five days after the August audition I was so, so blessed and excited. I got the call to be a Radio City Rockette.
CB: What about the famous eye-high kicks that the Rockettes are known for? How do the dancers achieve that precision considering everyone is a different height and other factors?
DB: Actually one of our secrets is that the kickline is an illusion. Yes, we are different heights, we are 5 ‘5” to 5 ’10’’ and a half. We place our tallest ladies in the center of the stage and then it gradually fans out to our less tall ladies. No one is ever short in Rockette land, so our less tall ladies are on the end. That’s the illusion when you’re looking at the stage. And another very fun fact about Radio City Music Hall — it is the span of a city block. So it’s quite a large stage. That’s how it fits 36 Rockettes on it at one time and when you see that kickline, it looks like we’re all the same height. So every lady is kicking with the toe to your eye level, but because of that gradual height line, that’s the way it looks like we all kick at the same height. And we rehearse six days a week for many, many hours to get those kicklines super perfect, super precise. But I also think that every Rockette is here to work to make it as perfect as possible — that’s what the audience really wants to see. It’s like one dancer in unison dancing, even though it’s 36 of us. It’s always 36 women on stage, that’s how many Rockettes can actually fit in a kickline on the stage with the size of Radio City Music Hall.
CB: What is a day in the life of a Rockette like?
DB: Our rehearsal process is incredibly rigorous. As glamorous as this job is and looks, it’s also a lot of hard work, which I think is what makes the Rockettes so interesting. We are able to make what we do look so effortless. But it does take that consistent work in our rehearsal space to make that effortlessness happen. We rehearse 6 hours a day, 6 days a week for about 6 weeks leading up to [“The Christmas Spectacular”] opening, which this year is Nov. 17. We are just completely learning the show top to bottom, every detail in choreography. And then a big part of our rehearsal process is making things as detailed and precise as possible. The Rockettes are America’s longest-running precision dance company. What we do is so unique in that way, that it’s every detail from where your eyes are focused to the placement of your fingers.
CB: Talk about “The Christmas Spectacular.”
DB: I think what makes “The Christmas Spectacular” so incredible is our blending of tradition and history along with bringing the new, the technology that keeps us really modernized. So we have numbers like the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” and the “Living Nativity” that have been in “The Christmas Spectacular” since its inception in 1933. “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” in particular, every single Rockette in history has performed that number. The choreography has never changed; the design of the costumes has never changed. It’s such an inspiring moment to know that you are continuing the legacy of such an incredible company. We also have newer numbers like our “Dance of the Frost Fairies,” which transforms Radio City Music Hall into this winter wonderland. It’s absolutely stunning. Every single woman has her own unique costume, which is really, really cool. And we don’t have that in any other number in the show.
CB: Do you have a favorite dance number in “The Christmas Spectacular?”
DB: My favorite number is “New York at Christmas.” It falls smack dab in the middle of the show. And the Rockettes come on stage and board an actual, life-size double-decker tour bus. And the bus spins around on the stage on its own. Our massive indoor LED screen shows a tour of New York City at Christmas time. And we end up doing a really high-energy jazz number, showcasing not only our precision choreography, but also this incredible kickline where we’re just eye-high kicking until the end of the number. It’s such a spectacle and I think it really epitomizes not only New York at Christmas time but also what the Rockettes bring to Christmas in New York.
CB: How could someone from Cincinnati or anywhere around the world get to see the magic of “The Christmas Spectacular” without going to NYC?
DB: I absolutely love that the Rockettes’ Instagram and our social media channels are so active, not only during the Christmas season, but also off-season as well. We’re constantly putting out videos and showing clips of our rehearsal process, showing clips of the show in action. For a lot of my family that can’t make it up, they are always keeping an eye on our social media channels so that they can see what’s happening. But if there is a possibility for people to make it to New York and see the show, I absolutely think it’s worth it. We do have lots of live performances as well. There’s always the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We get to do a lot of special events during the season.
CB: Have you been a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
DB: I personally have been a part of eight Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, which has been an absolute dream come true. And that is another amazing way for people across the country and also across the world to get to witness us. We perform every Thanksgiving at the Macy’s Parade. And then we also have things like the Rockefeller Center, Christmas tree lighting, which is another really special performance. Last year, we got to perform with Mariah Carey on her Christmas special, which was absolutely amazing.
CB: What’s it like to work beside your sister?
DB: We have four sets of sisters this year, which is so cool. Jordan and I grew up dancing together at the same studio. We both always knew we wanted to be professional. But there’s many different avenues that you can go down in the dance world, we never put it together that maybe someday we get to share the stage. This year, we’re seven years into dancing together on the line and this year we stand right next to each other in the kickline so I literally get to see her right next to me kicking every single day, which is a dream come true. We have this incredible sisterhood that is the Rockettes. We are bonded together through this experience. To be able to not only have the Rockette sisterhood that I’m a part of, but then have my actual family on stage as well is incredible.
CB: What are some characteristics that Rockettes embody?
DB: There’s so much kindness involved in this company. We work so hard to bring joy to our audiences and we love to share that kindness with not only our audiences, but our fellow dancers. And the women here are just so special and spectacular. We really lift each other up during the season. We’re away from our families during the holiday season. And we become each other’s family during this time. There are so many adjectives I could use to describe a Rockette, the grace that we have when we’re on stage, we’re sophisticated, we’re elegant. We’re here to showcase the talents that we have and to be able to share that with the world.
For more information about the Radio City Rockettes, visit rockettes.com.
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This article appears in Nov 1-14, 2023.
