# Radio City Rockettes Celebrate 100 Year Anniversary **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** theater-stage-dance\ **Created:** [January 5, 2026, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359 "2026-01-05T05:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/1 "2026-01-05T05:45:49Z")
Straight Dope seems to have missed this, but the Rockettes have celebrated their 100 year anniversary: > **[High-kicking Radio City Rockettes mark 100 years with Christmas Spectacular](https://apnews.com/article/rockettes-radio-city-new-york-christmas-5e647c737001e866bf9272ea2c20ba30)** > > A high-kicking staple of the New York City holiday season is marking a century of wowing crowds: the iconic Radio City Rockettes are turning 100. **The Rockettes, at 100, Need a Kick in the Right Direction:** This year, “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” pays homage to the legacy of the group, but its future seems to be more about sisterhood than dancing. [paywalled] [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/arts/dance/the-rockettes-at-100.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/arts/dance/the-rockettes-at-100.html) > **[The Rockettes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rockettes)** > > The Radio City Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded in 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since 1932, performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual Christmas show, and for performing annually since 1957 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. > The Rockettes were originally inspired by the Tiller Girls, a precision dance company of t... I remember them from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade–but it has been a very long time since I watched that. Anyone ever see the show in person? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/2 "2026-01-05T11:55:48Z")
I saw a show about 45 years ago. I remember nothing else about it. But the building was impressive. I was a teen. It seemed like a dated form of entertainment then, but again, I was a teen. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/3 "2026-01-05T12:15:36Z")
Saw them in a show at Radio City in 1966. There was also a movie: “The Singing Nun” with Debby Reynolds. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/4 "2026-01-05T12:22:07Z")
There are any number of recreational dancing troupes composed of little old ladies. They get dressed up and perform chorus line dancing with varying degrees of enthusiasm, vigor, and personal flexibility. You go girls! Many of these troupes call themselves the “Happy Hoofers”, but there doesn’t seem to be an overarching national organization of that name. Anyhow, the thought of Rockettes turning 100 made me think of all these smiling lipsticked little old ladies stomping about. Some of whom may well have been actual Rockettes at some point in the past. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/5 "2026-01-06T03:36:44Z")
I was on a business trip in NYC that ended a few days before Thanksgiving in 1984. My wife flew (solo!) to LaGuardia, where I met her at the gate. We did the usual tourists things, and got to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. We then walked to Radio City Music Hall and asked about tickets for the matinee show that day. She sighed, said there were a few, such as these two seats together, third row center section on the aisle. Of course we took them. The only bad part was they were a little too close, since we could see how old several of the dancers were. But the entire show was worthwhile, especially at the start of the holiday season. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/6 "2026-01-06T03:58:43Z")
Saw it the other week. I’m not sure what I thought it would be like, but it was pretty incredible. It wasn’t just dancing, it was a pretty immersive experience. Lights, 360 degree visuals, objects flying around the theatre. Like Vegas stuff. I was impressed and recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-city-rockettes-celebrate-100-year-anniversary/1026359/7 "2026-01-06T04:41:52Z")
I’ve seen it, around 15-20 years ago when my kids were small. My husband grew up in the NYC area and remembered being impressed by the show when he was a kid. So he wanted our kids to see it too. I don’t remember too much about it, just that it was fun and entertaining with high production values.