Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Markert, Russell performer Theatrical Performance 1932-12-27 Radio City Music Hall The group started by Russell Markert in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri as the "Missouri Rockets." In 1927, Samuel Roxy Rothafel discovered them and brought them to New York City where in many ways they took over from the tradition of precision line dancing of Florenz Ziegfield's Girls. Their New York City debut was in Rothafel's own Roxy Theatre on 50th Street and Seventh Avenue under the name "Roxyettes." Rothafel moved them to their current stead, opening of the Radio City Music Hall on December 27, 1932. The Rockettes perform four shows a day, 28 shows a week, 365 days a year for more than 50 years. The Rockettes did not allow black female dancers into the dance line until 1987. The justification for the policy against hiring blacks was that blacks would distract from the consistent look of the dance group. The signature look in their performance was bright smiles and unison dancing, precision kick-lines and formations. Performing Arts Encyclopedia http://www.loc.gov/performingarts Tap Dance America http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/tda/tda-home.html tda IHAS 151216 loc.music.tda.2223