On April 22, I attended the annual open call Rockette auditions in New York City. These auditions are to help auditionees secure a spot for the Christmas Spectacular and are held at Radio City Music Hall. Over 1,000 dancers try out every year, determined to get a spot on the world-famous Rockettes team. I have trained in Rockette-style kickline for many years now, and I felt like I was prepared to audition. The entire audition process lasts about three days.
On the first day of auditions, you are assigned a number and go into a room to learn the combination from the Rockettes themselves. This is called the open-call audition. The combination is usually in the style of jazz/precision. After learning the combination, you then practice it with music and receive feedback from the Rockette dance captains. Once you have mastered the combination and practiced with music, you will then perform in front of a panel of judges. There is a live band playing as well and about 60-80 dancers practice at a time. We are then sorted into groups of five and get to only perform the combination once in front of the judges. This is also when the first cut happens: the judges will pick about 20 girls to stay while everyone else is finished with their audition.
On day two, the number of dancers is significantly less. This day of auditioning is referred to as callbacks. Dancers who got selected to stay return for more choreography and in-depth instruction. This day also focuses more on tap technique. The judges main focus is to look for dancers who succeed in precision, execute the choreography at a higher standard, and blend in. After these groups perform in front of the judges, another cut happens and those who are chosen to stay get to move on to the final day of auditions.
On the final day, the remaining dancers perform the choreography for the judges one last time. The panel makes the final decision of who will receive a spot on the Rockettes Team or be invited to dance development programs. Ultimately, about 84 dancers are selected for the two casts as well as swings (those who step in if a dancer is unable to perform).
After getting to be involved in this experience for the first time, I am very grateful I got this amazing opportunity. I am also looking forward to working on my skills and technique so that I can audition again next year and hopefully move forward a bit more in the audition process.
