By Kevin Zimmerman
In late-September as many people are trying to squeeze another drop out of a waning summer, Lori Barber is already dreaming of a white Christmas.
It’s not that the Astoria resident wants to rush the season, but she is anxious to get back to work as a Rockette in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
“I love the audience and seeing the smiling faces,” Barber said. “It’s intoxicating. You can do 18 shows a week in a theater that holds 6,000 people, and it never gets old.
Now in her 10th season with the Rockettes, Barber relishes her time spent on stage in the iconic New York show that’s been running since 1933.
Barber, who grew up in Uniontown, Pa. — about 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh — started dancing not long after she could walk. When she was 3, her mother signed her up for a baby ballet class, and she hasn’t stopped moving since.
About 13 years ago, after studying at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Barber packed up and headed to New York City. As she continued to study and settle into her new home, Barber hit the audition circuit.
She remembers the first time she took the subway from Astoria and showed up for a tryout at Radio City Music Hall, where the line of hopefuls snaked around the building and down the block.
“It was pretty intimidating,” Barber said. “The year I auditioned there were 400 girls auditioning.”
After the final kick-line, Barber had secured a spot in one cast of 36 dancers. She was one of four new performers that year.
Although the Christmas show is probably the biggest one on the Rockettes’ calendar, throughout the year the dancers perform and make public appearances at various fund-raisers and events. Each performance requires preparation and rehearsal, but when it’s time to focus on the year-end show, the Rockettes experience a sort of tunnel vision.
This year, rehearsals began Sept. 24 and ran six days a week for eight hours a day until the first performance Nov. 8, Barber said.
Of course, that’s when the work really begins.
“It’s a pretty packed schedule,” Barber said. “You can do up to four shows a day. Shows can start as early as 9 a.m., and as late as 10 a.m. And we gets notes from the choreographer and director after every single performance.”
Each season the show changes a little with new numbers added and others dropped. But since the beginning the Living Nativity, which brings live barn animals on stage, and the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” have remained constant.
For Barber, the synchronized soldiers’ dance remains one of her favorite pieces.
Dressed in military garb of red, white and blue and wearing tall, black hats topped with huge plumage, the Rockettes have performed the number exactly the same way for 80 years.
Barber likes how in today’s age of computer-generated visuals, the dazzling effect of soldiers tumbling into one another — like slowly cascading dominos — is created through teamwork.
“It shows our precision and how we have to come together as a line,” Barber said. “It’s really about the sisterhood. One girl has to depend upon the next girl, who depends upon the next girl, who depends upon the next girl to get the job done.”
Another favorite number for Barber is the new finale, called “Snow,” where each Rockette is adorned in a slightly different costume of purple, blue or teal to represent an individual snowflake. As the song begins, wave after wave of Rockettes move on stage until all three dozen women form a dazzling snowstorm.
“It creates this winter wonderland in Radio City,” Barber said. “Individually, we are unique and beautiful, then we come together to create something powerful and wonderful.”
This year’s show runs through Dec. 30, then there will be other appearances before the process restarts and current Rockettes are re-evaluated to ensure they maintain their athleticism, Barber said.
“I take it one year at a time,” Barber said. “I hope I can do it as long as possible. I love doing this. I love it as much today as I did 10 years ago.”
Reach news editor Kevin Zimmerman at (718) 260-4541 or by e-mail at kzimmerman@cnglocal.com
If You Go
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
When: Daily through Dec. 30
Where: Radio City Music Hall, 1260 6th Ave., Manhattan
Cost: $40 – $329
Contact: (866) 858-0007
Website: radiocitychristmas.com
