What is your Christmas tradition?
It seems like a long time ago since we had the chance to go out and celebrate life. Slowly, people are trying their best to get their lives back.
We see Christmas trees lighting up, people going out, families going gift shopping, and so much more.
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A few weeks ago, The Christmas Spectacular committee announced that they are back this year.
Watching the Christmas Spectacular has been a part of many family’s traditions.
Each year, many families across the United States travel just to see the outstanding performances of the talented performers.
One performance, in particular, captures hearts.
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The Parade of The Wooden Soldiers.
In this performance, we see 36 Rockettes in their full costumes. They even have those red cheeks and that heavy-looking 3-foot-tall hat.
If you haven’t seen their performance, then we’ll give you many reasons why you should see it and belong to the millions of people who love them.
At first glance, you’ll see wooden soldiers perfectly lined up until the music starts.
Then we see them move.
If you’re watching it from your screen for the first time, you would think they’re really mechanical toys. That is how convincing they are.
The wooden toy’s costume was designed by Vincent Minelli, while their classic routine was choreographed by Russell Markert.
Did you know that the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers and the Living Nativity are the only two numbers that haven’t changed since 1933?
The synchronicity is incredible.
It may seem the routine is simple for some, but if you analyze every step, you’d understand how hard it actually is. Imagine training 36 people to be perfectly synchronized.
Every step counts, and even each soldier’s spacing is crucial. As we can see, they all look the same, one wrong move, and everyone will know.
Each soldier marches at different speeds.
The vibrant colors and the music all blend together to give way for all the soldiers to dance.
They were able to achieve that magical theme where wooden soldiers come to life on Christmas eve.
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Each illusion will make you want to see more, and they never fail their audience. Can you imagine how hard they had to practice to perfect each performance?
You may even catch yourself looking at their feet.
But you’ll see so much more.
The performance is just so magical that you would want to see it next year and the year after that.
No wonder it became a tradition.
Who would forget the breathtaking finale of their performance?
Again, it may look easy, but all 36 women need to strengthen their muscles and core for this act.
People can’t get over “the fall”.
The wooden soldier fall has everyone asking, how do they do it? Because of this, the Rockettes created a short video about the secret behind the memorable finale.
According to the ladies, they practice and learn it six girls at a time.
“It starts off by having somebody rock up on their heels and start to go back and you raise your hands up and slide your hands through then open your arms and when that woman in front of you is on your chest then you do the same thing. You rock up on your heel and everything keeps going up,” said Julie Branam, the director, and choreographer of Christmas Spectacular.
Sound complicated?
Just imagine having to practice this and the routine over and over again?
It’s just amazing how these people are so dedicated to their craft and have managed to produce world-class performances.
No wonder they have been a part of the Christmas tradition.
Watch these wooden soldiers woo the crowd in the video below!
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