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The Rockettes have paraded as wooden soldiers since The Radio City
Christmas Spectacular's debut in 1933. Modeled after a porcelain
doll, the costume was originally made of lined duvetine jackets
and cotton duct pants, which were stiffened in cold starch at the
laundry near the Music Hall. Constructed like a box without front
and back pleats, the pants needed perfect hems because they couldn't
be altered after the starching process. The soldiers still look
the same today, but now a cotton twill fabric is used, which is
still bleached and starched to within an inch of its life. Matching
hats are made of buckram, which looks like cheese cloth that was
covered first in oil skin and then later in patent leather. Specially
crafted for each Rockette, a wooden soldier costume takes about
twelve hours to make. The Rockettes' costumes have stayed true to their traditional style, yet the leg lines on their dresses have been hiked up since the 1960s. In the Thirties and Forties, the dancers wore trunks that looked more like low-cut boxer shorts, but after the bikini entered the fashion world the Rockettes raised their kicks with increased sex appeal. Better still, the invention of Danskin lycra-spandex was revolutionary for the costume industry. Allowing the dancers to breathe and move more easily, this stretch fabric created thicker, more durable tights. For the first Radio City production of Bolero in 1933, Vincente Minnelli designed the Rockettes' costumes out of red cable netting. Their slim, ruffled sleeves were made of a sheer cotton fabric called organdy and had sequined trim. When the Rockettes performed the Bolero number again in the 1982 Encore show at Radio City Music Hall, the dancers' outfits took a turn for the sexier. Made of satin, they were bare at the top and dared to show cleavage. Frank Spencer created another costume highlight for the celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of England in 1953. Costumes for "Crowning Glory" included high headgear made of white schako, red velvet tops with sequined jackets, high boots with matching white patent leather belts and short skirts. Today's Looks Today's Rockette costumes are more glamorous than ever. 1999 introduces two new costumes. Designed by Barbara Matera, the new attire in White Christmas in New York features Rockettes as storefront mannequins. The costume is adorned with mirrors and white wigs. In the revised Santa's Toy Fantasy, the Rockettes help Santa out by pulling his sleigh as the leggy beauties are reindeer. Designed by Pete Menefee in 1990, the "Carol of the Bells" takes matching gold spandex, each separately hand-dyed. White ostrich plumes are attached to the large gold helmets, which are held up by welded lightweight metal costing $900 per piece. The dancers wear eighty pairs of sparkle tights per year with the shiny velvet "Green Holly" costume in "Santa's Gonna Rock and Roll." Each pair is custom-made and hand-painted to create the shimmer. At the Spring Spectacular, the Rockettes have been dressed as bellhop usherettes in "Happy Feet" for seventeen years, sporting burgundy and mauve pleated tap pants with matching pillbox hats and the Radio City logo. Bob Mackie designed the legendary costume for "Dancing in Diamonds," which is made of black spandex and silver lame, contains tons of beads and rhinestones, and has a feathered headpiece. This outfit includes a curved capelike piece called a swag, which stretches from the dancer's finger to her opposite shoulder increasing the appearance of motion on stage. In general, costumes are fitted for each dancer three times, and continual alterations are required. At the Christmas Spectacular, each of the Rockettes must change costumes eight times during the show, and they have as little as eighty seconds in which to make one change. Radio City Entertainment produces, presents and promotes live entertainment
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