It’s the Rockettes’ way.
Fans of the famed Radio City Music Hall dance troupe will get a high kick out of New York City’s big tribute to the dancers as they mark their 100th anniversary.
On Friday morning, The Post can exclusively report, the Big Apple renamed the stretch in front of the venue “Rockettes Way,” installing a sleek black-and-white sign with bright, gold lettering and a special anniversary logo at the corner of 50th Street and Sixth Avenue. It’s a timely celebration of the troupe’s centennial after kicking off the 2025 season of the beloved “Christmas Spectacular” on Thursday night.
City rules regarding street signs are notoriously strict, but when the Rockettes’ owner, MSG Entertainment, called the NYC Department of Transportation and asked for a special-edition sign, the DOT answered “yes” quicker than you can say “Christmas Spectacular.”
A crew at the DOT Sign Shop in Maspeth, Queens, hustled to turn around the custom creation within three days, right in time for Friday’s scheduled unveiling outside of the legendary Midtown theater.
The workers even created a limited-edition batch of 25 “Rockettes Way” street signs, available for purchase at $100 each, from NYC’s CityStore.com.
For fans — and dancers — it couldn’t get more festive than that.
“The Rockettes have shown year after year that they’re not only a staple in our culture, but a necessity that can bring people together. It’s that love and joy that [the] Rockettes inspire, not just in New York City or across the country, but really across the world,” Mindy Moeller, a 14-year Rockette veteran, told The Post.
Long before the leggy dance troupe rocketed to fame as a Big Apple staple and a global phenomenon, they were a small group only known halfway across the country in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1925, choreographer Russell Markert was asked by the owners of the Missouri Theater to create a “specialty dance troupe” to perform before or after movie screenings.
After holding auditions, he put together a group of talented dancers and called them the “Missouri Rockets” by October of that year.
The word “rocket” has nothing to do with dance, but Markert liked how precise the word sounded, which was fitting, considering the dance group became known for their wildly impressive precision dance moves.
After quickly becoming a hit in the Midwest, the Missouri Rockets embarked on a nationwide tour, and during a stop in NYC, the dazzling dancers caught the attention of Samuel “Roxy” Rothafel, the owner of the new Roxy Theatre.
By 1930, Rothafel moved the Missouri Rockets to NYC, doubled their size and changed their name, once again, to the “Roxyettes.”
In 1932, the precision dance company was enlisted to perform at the newly opened Radio City Music Hall. The following year, the dancers performed their first “Christmas Spectacular.”
Roxyettes didn’t easily roll off the tongue, so in 1934, some tweaks were made — and the group’s name was changed one final time to the legendary “Rockettes.”
And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
“How many dance companies in America can say that they have been around for 100 years? I mean, it’s not many. I can tell you that,” Moeller enthused to The Post. “But I think celebrating this year is really a huge honor, because it just proves that the Rockettes have withstood the test of time, through the triumphs and the tribulations that are American history.”
To date, more than 72 million people have seen the Rockettes perform their eye-high kicks in the “Christmas Spectacular.”
For those lucky enough to snag tickets to this year’s show, they’ll be in for a few new treats.
Five minutes before the curtain opens, audience members will watch a short tribute video that highlights the Rockettes’ 100-year legacy, featuring both former and current dancers looking back at their journeys.
And once the show begins, audience members will notice a huge difference in the show’s new, enhanced acoustics, a Sphere immersive sound system — named after MSG’s massive, eye-catching venue in Las Vegas.
The 100th anniversary celebrations extend far beyond the historic walls of Radio City, too.
Manhattan landmarks Serendipity Three (225 E. 60th St. and 157 W. 47th St.) and Magnolia Bakery at Rockefeller Center (1240 Sixth Ave.) will offer Rockettes-themed treats like frozen drinks and a special red velvet cupcake during the “Spectacular” run, which continues through Jan. 5, 2026.
The Empire State Building and the Museum of Broadway is also paying tribute to the dance group with a display of archival photos and decades-old costumes created by designers Bob Mackie, Gregg Barnes, Emilio Sosa and Pete Menefee, who have all “touched the Rockettes legacy in their own way,” Jessica Tuttle, executive vice president of productions for MSG Entertainment, told The Post.
Of course, you can’t speak of the Rockettes’ costumes without mentioning the famous “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” which was designed by Vincente Minnelli — yes, Liza’s father and Judy Garland’s husband.
“He made that costume and choreographed [that number] in 1932,” Tuttle said. “And it’s relatively unchanged; it’s pretty much exactly the way it was” — aside from, she noted, changes in fabrics throughout the years to make the fit more comfortable for the Rockettes.
“So every woman who has been a Rockette that has danced at Radio City Music Hall has worn that costume [and] has danced that dance,” added Tuttle.
While some aspects of the Rockettes have remained the same throughout the years, like their iconic French twist and red lip, the beloved dance troupe has evolved and grown.
One hundred years ago, the famous kickline had only 16 dancers, whereas today, there are 42 Rockettes for each of the two “Christmas Spectacular” casts.
The height requirements have also drastically changed. Originally, Rockettes were required to be between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-6½, but today, they must be between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10½.
For a 100-year-old dance company to remain relevant in this social media-obsessed digital age is no easy feat, but they’ve managed to do so with a boost from social media.
All year round, the leggy dance troupe can be seen keeping up with wild TikTok trends, dancing alongside celebrities like Ciara, and appearing at Citi Field for Mets’ Women’s Night with Hoda Kotb.
“It’s not something you can just sit back on and hope it happens. We realize how important this brand is to so many people around the world, and there are a lot of people who may never actually see us in person,” Tuttle pointed out.
“Their [the public’s] entire interaction with [the Rockettes] is either the Thanksgiving Day parade or our social media channels, and they [the public] have this amazing connection with us. I think that’s the uniqueness of the Rockettes.”
Since one of the many things the Rockettes are known for is their sisterhood, the Rockettes Legacy was launched earlier this year to honor the thousands of women who have been a part of the famous kickline and to foster lifelong connections for all former Rockettes.
“The past 100 years of women have been amazing, and they’re better together. They’re all unique — different skin tones and body types,” said Tuttle.
“But when they come together, they make this unbelievably spectacular thing to see.”
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