Selects: Rockettes: Still Kicking After All These Years

The Rockettes weren't always a New York institution - they actually began as the Missouri Rockets in St. Louis in 1925. Choreographer Russell Markert founded the troupe after being inspired by the British Tiller Girls, a precision dance group created by John Tiller in 1894. Markert's vision was to create an American version with taller dancers capable of higher kicks, bringing the art of precision dance - where multiple dancers move as one synchronized unit - to American audiences.

• The Rockettes were founded in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri, not New York City
• Russell Markert was inspired by British choreographer John Tiller's precision dance technique from the 1890s
• Precision dance involves highly trained dancers moving in such perfect unison they appear as one entity
• Markert wanted American dancers with longer legs to kick higher than the British Tiller Girls

The troupe's big break came when they performed on Broadway in Rain or Shine, where promoter S.L. "Roxy" Rothafell discovered them. He brought select dancers to New York City and installed them at the newly opening Radio City Music Hall in 1932, initially calling them the Roxiettes after his nickname. The venue opened to massive demand with 100,000 people wanting tickets to the 6,200-seat theater, which remains the nation's largest indoor theatrical venue.

• S.L. 'Roxy' Rothafell discovered the dancers on Broadway and brought them to New York
• The dancers debuted at Radio City Music Hall in 1932 as the Roxiettes
• 100,000 people wanted tickets to the opening at the 6,200-seat Radio City Music Hall
• Radio City Music Hall remains the nation's largest indoor theatrical venue
• Russell Markert received payment for his choreography through 1971, working with the Rockettes from 1925-1971