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Almost 500 people were lined up on Thursday April 29 for Rockettes Christmas show auditions. They opened the doors at 10 am, however the first auditioner arrived on the scene at 5:30 am. Rockettes call backs will take place on Friday April 30.

In order to be a Rockette women must meet the strict requirements of being 5’6” to 5’10” tall. They must be skilled tap dance and jazz dancers and be over 18 years old.

Six additional “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” shows have been added to their 2010 holiday season schedule. There are over 200 performances now of “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” for audiences to share the holiday season spirit with. Here are the new times and dates:

November 21 (Sunday) at 8 pm
December 4 (Saturday) at 10 pm
December 5 (Sunday) at 8 pm
December 11 (Saturday) at 10 pm
December 12 (Sunday) at 8 pm
December 17 (Friday) at 9:30 pm

Being home during the holidays is what everyone wants. The truth is, there is plenty going on right here in Lower Hudson Valley that will keep all of us busy for weeks, with Nutcracker performances, Hanukkah festivals and family concerts.

However in between Thanksgiving week and New Years is a perfect time for taking in some of New York City’s dazzle as well, from the Rockefeller Center tree lighting with their Putnam Country tree to Macy’s windows, with Joe Egan from Nyack and Mohegan Lake team among the designers.

At the Radio City Music Hall backstage, it takes Katie Hamrah and Corinne Tighe an hour to get completely ready to do the show, applying Rockette standard cherry-tinted blush and red lipstick as well as stretching.

The mandatory French twist Rockette hairstyle isn’t easy for Tighe. She has two bottles worth of Tresemme’s hair spray sitting on her dressing table. She says she uses a bottle per month.

Each costume carefully hangs from a rack. On her shoes, the last name Tighe is printed in black so she can quickly identify that they are hers. These shoes are in a basket underneath her finale costume, which is a sheer leotard that has 3,000 Swarovski crystals encrusted on it.

For more than 75 years the favorite holiday show of America has been “Christmas Spectacular.” Christmas start out fashionably with the Rockettes using their exclusive style to stun audiences.

On November 10 the “Christmas Spectacular” annual cross country tour with the Rockettes will be kicking off from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at Allient Energy Center. The inaugural Christmas Spectacular will have two shows lasting 90 minutes and start at 4 pm and also at 7 pm. This season’s tour will visit 19 cities in a span of 47 days and cover approximately 9,000 miles.

Six Rockettes, dressed in customary long white gloves, pearls and red Santa coats, visited the “Today Show” set to ring in Radio City’s annual Christmas Spectacular that is kicking off today.

Each year at this time, people come to New York City from all over to watch the Rockettes perform live. Many consider it to be a holiday season ritual that can’t be missed. The curtains are rising earlier this year than ever before during the 75 year history of the show.