On Dancer--Rockettes' 85th Anniversary, Radio City Christmas Spectacular

The beloved "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" portion of the show.

Sixth Avenue @ 6 P.M. Photo by Figgy.

That's a long run for the dancers....since 1928. My grandma, Alice Mahon, talked to me about flappers in NYC in the 1920s.....she had a mischievous smile on her wrinkled face and a twinkle in her dark eyes when she described the bobbed hair and daring dresses.

Radio City and the Rockettes have been around nearly forever, and I like that we're a part of their history.

Can you see us there, sitting elbow to elbow? My big sister, wearing her holiday pin and cute short auburn haircut; my niece Leah, in cherry-red shirt and blue blaid Burberry scarf, with swinging, healthy hair; Fig, 17, in red Gap parka, ponytail and boots, wonder in her eyes despite her growing cynicism; and me, with the angel pin Sis gave me in 2001 pinned to my sweater.

An interlude @ the Christmas Spectacular tonight, narrated by Santa, was "85 Years of Style," a look at some of the Rockettes' costumes since the start, shown on one model at a time. Loved the feathery 1920s/30s flapper-esque look....the black and white 1950s one, in the era when TV was coming in....the space-age 1960s design....the glitzy, Cher-type Bob Mackie one from the 1980s, when everything was over the top....

I'm a bit tired to write too much, but my favorite of the 14 scenes this year were:

• Scene 5, Parade of the Wooden Soliders. Always steals the show--the Rockettes line up and collapse like a deck of cards.
• Scene 6, New York at Christmas. So pretty and cheery.
• Scene 8, Here Comes Santa Claus. The multiplying, dancing Santas--winning and winsome.
• Scene 13, The Living Nativity. The camels, the opulent Wise Men, the star above the humble manger, the Christmas story.

I also really love scenes 1 and 2, "Sleigh Ride" and the 3-D "Santa Flies to New York," but we were a few minutes late and missed them. Bummer. Shouldn't have ordered that green tea ice cream after dinner @ the Japanese resturant! The service was slow. Oh well....next year!

Good night.

TCOY

1. Private Benjamin with H.
2. Walked Sug around block and walked in NYC with Fig.