The holidays are such a special time of year because of the traditions that we always have to look forward to. One of those traditions is decorating our home with iconic ornaments like toy soldiers.
You’ll see these toy figurines as nutcrackers or illuminating front lawns.
The toy soldier became a holiday symbol after appearing as The Nutcracker in “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice” written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816. The story is a tale about the cursed prince of the Doll Kingdom whose spell is broken on Christmas after he battles the Mice King. The story has become a Christmas tradition which has made the Nutcracker a Christmas icon.
Each year The Rockettes pay homage to this Christmas icon in their annual performance of “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” during the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes where the dancers perform an impressively precise routine dressed in pristine soldier uniforms and tall hats.
Which according to one Rockette isn’t too comfortable.
“The first time I tried on my soldier costume, I actually cried,” Rockette Alina Duncan told The New York Times. “It’s history.”
The Rockettes move in perfect unison as they line up, split up, and march around the stage in different configurations as festive music plays in the background. It is an absolute delight to witness and really gets you in the holiday spirit!
What makes “The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” so famous is their ending scene where the toy soldiers are shot by a cannon and perfectly collapse like dominoes.
The choreography was created Russel Markert and involved each of the dancers interlock arms as they slowly and stiffly fall on one another using teamwork, patience, and abs of steel.
“We’re thinking of staying completely flat all the way down,” Duncan said. “If you’re even just a centimeter off, then the fall can go wonky. When it’s one of those four-show days you’re like, ‘Are we going to fall now?’”
It’s amazing how skilled and talented these women are in being able to pull these moves off. Not only are their audiences impressed but so is the internet. This one video alone has gotten more than 350,000 views on YouTube.
You can check out one of their phenomenal performances of “The Parade of Wooden Soldiers” in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
