Rockettes' Touring Troupe Folds

The past year has been rough for the Rockettes. First, they abruptly announced the postponement of their new show Heart and Lights last spring. After reworking the production and adding some major collaborators (hello, Derek Hough, Jared Grimes, Mia Michaels, Whoopi Goldberg and others!), it seemed like the high kickers were in a good place. 

But just weeks before their New York Spring Spectacular starts previews, Madison Square Garden Entertainment made another startling decision: The Rockettes famed touring company, which has brought the Radio City Christmas Spectacular to cities throughout the U.S. since 1994, was shuffling-off-to-Buffalo, er, shutting down.

The New York Daily News reported that David Goodman, president of productions and live entertainment at MSG Entertainment, confirmed the decision last Friday. While Goodman took the opportunity to plug the new show (“Right now we are focused on the New York Spring Spectacular, which will feature the Rockettes in dazzling, new and creative choreography.”) he failed to explain the motivation behind shuttering the touring company. While it was most likely a business decision, it’s a huge loss for the dance community since the show provided steady seasonal work for the casts of Radio City Christmas Spectacular outside of New York City (most recently in Omaha, Houston and Nashville). According to an unnamed source in the Daily News article, this move affects more than one hundred dancers and staff involved in the tours.