How a Rockette stays healthy and sane during 'Christmas Spectacular' season
Yahoo Life chatted with a Rockette backstage at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall to learn more about the hard work and athleticism that goes into bringing this holiday tradition to the stage.
Since it opened in 1933, the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes has been seen by more than 70 million people who have flocked to the heart of New York City to see the famous dance troupe do high kicks and synchronized numbers.
Hannah Weinmaster had grown up watching the Rockettes on TV during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; after moving from Colorado to Manhattan, she decided she wanted to be more than a spectator. “I was like, 'This is a dream of mine. That's what I want to do,’” she says.
Now, for the second year in a row, Weinmaster has landed her dream job. She’s one of the 84 dancers performing this season as a Rockette — a coveted role that’s also a lot tougher than the red-lipsticked smiles and sassy sequined costumes onstage would lead you to believe.
A day in the life of a Rockette
Before the Christmas Spectacular starts, Rockettes have six hours of rehearsals a day, six days a week, for six weeks. Then performance season kicks in. From mid-November to Jan. 4, the Rockettes put on nearly 200 shows (100 shows per cast) — doing two to four 90-minute performances each day, with as many as 17 performances in a week.
Weinmaster is onstage six days a week — including on Christmas Day — with Thursdays being her only days off. While the sheer volume of shows the Rockettes perform each season is “a lot of work on our bodies,” Weinmaster says she “wouldn’t change it for a thing.” As a member of the morning cast, her routine starts pretty early. Here’s what a typical day looks like:
Waking up. Weinmaster’s first goal is to hydrate. “First thing in the morning, I get a drink of water. I feel like with this job we sweat so much that it's good to replenish.” She has “a good breakfast” — usually some eggs, toast and a banana — before heading out the door.
Showtime. Shows can start as soon as 9 a.m., so she’s often at the theater bright and early. “I do my hair and makeup here, and once I get my hair and makeup done I usually go up to the rehearsal hall and do a little bit of a warmup,” Weinmaster says. “I do a lot of stretching, a lot of strengthening, get my heart rate up before the shows.” The day Weinmaster spends with Yahoo Life, she has only one show; but normally she has multiple curtain calls before the day is done.
Winding down. When her performances are done, Weinmaster heads home, takes a shower and “debriefs,” she says. “Usually that means either reading, journaling, sometimes meditation if I'm up for it — but sometimes since we're so tired, that puts me to sleep.” Weinmaster says getting enough sleep is one of the most important aspects of preventing injuries and pulling off multiple performances in a row, so she aims for as much as she can — usually between seven and 10 hours a night.
A dancer’s diet
Drinks containing plenty of electrolytes are Weinmaster’s “biggest go-to" for keeping energy up. She also relies on carbohydrates and protein-rich foods. “A lot of rice, a lot of chicken. I like red meat, so I do eat red meat throughout the season,” Weinmaster says.
Between shows she eats healthy snacks “to help replenish what I just lost,” including nuts, trail mix, fruits and vegetables.
A dancer’s workout
Weinmaster says a big lesson she took away from her first year as a Rockette was the importance of warming up and cooling down after performances — and she’s making that more of a priority this season. “I think last year I kind of thought I was invincible, and I wasn't as good about it as I am this year,” Weinmaster says.
When her shows are finished for the day, Weinmaster cools down by icing her feet, then uses a foam roller to roll out her muscles.
A big part of injury prevention, Weinmaster says, is cross-training — which she does in addition to dance training and performances.
“My favorite during the season is yoga and Pilates,” Weinmaster says. “I get really tight throughout the season, so being able to stretch and strengthen through yoga is very helpful for me.”
Currently, Weinmaster says she gets in plenty of cardio through performing (during the Christmas Spectacular season, each Rockette does more than 160 of those famous chorus-line kicks per show) and in the offseason she keeps her heart rate up through high-intensity workouts like boxing.
On mental health: ‘If I'm not a good human being first, how am I going to be a good performer?’
In addition to starting her day with the right mindset, Weinmaster says staying sane during the demanding holiday performance season is “all about balance.”
“Even though I'm on such a crazy and intense working schedule, I think finding moments to reconnect with myself and the people around me is very important, and also helps me be more successful throughout the season as a dancer,” Weinmaster says. “Because if I'm not a good human being first, how am I going to be a good performer and good dancer and a good teammate to the Rockettes around me?”
“So I think that for me, it's just very important to have that balance in my life.”
