A day with the Rockettes! - Talking With Tami

Rockettes performing the Soldier Dance

We all know by now that the Rockettes are in town! If you live in Atlanta or anywhere else,its that time of the season for the girls to prance the stage in their glittery outfits! I got a chance to get a sneak peek of their rehearsal yesterday. When I arrived at the Fox theatre, I met one dancer by the name of Carolyn Simpson! Come to find out, she is from Atlanta and lives in Gwinnett county by me! Carolyn said it was always a dream of hers to become a Rockette, since she was 4 years old. I asked her what does a young lady have to do to become a Rockette and she explained that,”first you have to grow lol”.

Carolyn Simpson chatting with me.

Rockettes need to be atleast 5’6″,trained in Tap,Ballet and Jazz and a must, are the I High kicks. You can have all the dance lessons your heart desires but if you cant kick, you’re waisting your time lol. Carolyn has been with the Rockettes for five seasons. She says they have rehearsal 6 days a week, for 6 hours daily.

Rockette dancer Carolyn Simpson

You also only get 30 minutes to warm up. There are 18 Rockettes on stage and they do 300 kicks a show, wow! They also never hold on to each other, its just an illusion. They do that for precaution, so no one else falls. She also said they still have 80 year old former Rockettes that can still do the kicks, well alright! I tried to do a kick and it wasn’t pretty at all, smh!