Interview: Radio City Rockette Traci Reszetylo Discusses Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, Instagram Live Classes & More

The Rockettes have been high-kicking in dazzling unison at Radio City Music Hall for nearly one hundred years, and are a beloved, iconic part of New York City entertainment. While all live performances have been put on hold in order to halt the spread of COVID-19, the endlessly talented Radio City Rockettes are finding ways to spread positivity and share the joy of dance virtually. The Rockettes are currently teaching Instagram Live workout classes every Tuesday, and dance classes every Thursday at 12pm ET, and they recently virtually recreated one of their most iconic dances - Parade of the Wooden Soldiers!

Rockette Traci Reszetylo recently taught an Instagram Live workout class on The Rockettes' Instagram page, and also lent her talents to the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers video. I discussed with Traci how the idea for the video came about, the best part about connecting with fans via social media and more!

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First off, I want to check in and ask - How are you doing during this time?

You know, obviously it has been a little hard for everybody being indoors, especially with the arts community and everything like that. It's been super hard, but right now I tell everybody the same thing, I'm just trying to really stay positive and stay busy and keep active, and spend this time with my family and my daughter, and try to think of activities to keep on going everyday. I think really just staying positive is the biggest part.

How long have you been a Rockette?

This season coming up will actually be my nineteenth season with The Rockettes. It still feels like my first. It kind of still blows my mind to hear the number nineteen. It's crazy, this past Christmas season we had thirteen new girls and it was just so cool. It kind of made me feel like it was my first year too, just from their energy.

How did the idea for the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers video come about? Why this dance?

Well, I think the dance, I mean it's so iconic to everybody. Every single person who comes to the show knows about the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers. Sometimes people come to the show just to see that number because it's been in the show since 1933 and it's still iconic as a Rockette number. And to dance together... I think it's really hard for everybody, especially as a dancer... whenever we go to class, whenever we go to work, we're together and around each other so closely. So, I think for us to do the same exact number and then put it all together, it kind of made us feel like we worked together. It was really really cool I think. It's been awesome to see online everything about all these different dance classes, and for us as Rockettes to be able to connect with our followers and to connect with each other through social media has just been great.

You taught a workout class on Instagram Live for The Rockettes! What was your favorite part about teaching that class? And in general, what has been your favorite part about bringing fitness and dance classes online for other people to learn from and enjoy?

Well, first and foremost, I think dance as a Rockette is imperative. We have to keep in shape throughout our off season all the time. Whenever we get to our main season, which is Christmas obviously, it is very vigorous. We are in it six days a week, six hours a day, up to four shows a day, so keeping active and keeping in shape during our off season is a part of our job and really a part of our life. So, to bring that to everybody else and to show how we stay in shape and stay active and fit I think is really great.

It was my first Instagram Live ever, so it was really fun to see all the comments popping up from people from Argentina or people from Canada or California or all over the world and all over the United States. I think by the end there were, like, 3,400 people that chimed in to the fitness class. And to show how we link our fitness to our dancing... I was doing an arm series because on Thursday we were doing Here Comes Santa Claus and we use our arms a lot, we're holding bells... I think it's really great to show people, yes we are dancers, but we are also athletes... so to link those together from the fitness classes to the dance classes, I think it's cool for the followers to see.

It was really amazing to connect with that many people. I said this to my fitness class at the very very end, yes, there are people that are working out with a Rockette, but there are several other Rockettes that actually took the class too and take the class on Thursdays, the dance class! So you're not only dancing and working out with one Rockette, you're working out and dancing with almost the whole entire line!

What advice would you give somebody during this time?

I think for me it's really having a project or something that you're looking forward to each day. So, if it is a workout class or dance class that I'm going to jump online and do, even if it's at noon or three or whatever, it gets my body moving. Or if I have a project in the house, I cleaned out my closet and it looks amazing now and it's really making me feel good! I love to cook. A lot of people are doing little tutorials about cooking and recipes and I've been looking up a lot of that. So it's finding things that you love to do and making a point to do them during the day and really trying to connect with everybody.

I think it's been wild, we talk about connecting with people, but it's really happening. I can't tell you how many zoom calls I've had with my whole entire family, with alumni Rockettes who aren't Rockettes now, but we zoom every Thursday to catch up with each other's families and kids, and we didn't do that before. I think everybody is really making a point to connect with each other.

Do The Rockettes have anything in the pipeline? Anything new coming up virtually you'd be able to share with us?

We have a bunch of things coming up on our Instagram Live and our Facebook that we're really excited about. Our fitness and our dance classes, we really want to keep everybody moving and active and give them just a little peak of a bunch of different shows we've done, and for them to move and learn some of our dances that we do. We're really excited about that. I think there are a lot of things that are coming up, they just have to tune into our Instagram and our social, and now we're on TikTok, so that's really fun! We're looking forward to anything that comes in the future and also trying to stay safe too.

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