Chasing the Dream
When I was fifteen I decide to go after one of my life long dreams and audition for the Rockette Summer Intensive program. Although this was not the ultimate dream it was one step closer.
This was a big step for me. One January weekend we drove four hours to NYC and stayed the night. That next morning, I got up at 7 am to get ready. As we entered the side of the building I was nervous and terrified. No one at my studio had ever gone to do a summer intensive or even an audition in NYC before. This was a huge step for me, this camp was everything. However, being realistic I did not expect to get in the first shot. We were there and I was the first one in line. We were over an hour early even though I was already signed up, they had to let me in. Being extremely egger I waited patiently for more people to come prior to lining up myself. At this point the nerves were just taking over. I finally shocked out of it when I realized that my mom could not come in the building with me. Being an only child I leaned on my mother a lot during my middle school and high school years. This was a big thing and not having her with me was even more terrifying.
After we went up the elevators and stairs was the first time I saw the rehearsal hall. There were pictures of the Rockettes and tape marks on the floor. I immediately calmed down knowing that I was there to dance and that is exactly what I was planning on doing. Even though I was not the best in the room I was not the underdog either. Over the next four hours we learned a Jazz combination as well as a small kick combination that we performed three at a time. We also had to do a double pirouette individual during our groups. There was about a hundred people at the audition so this process took over two hours. After we did this portion we then learned a tap routine and did that four at a time as well as preforming a time step of our choice individually. After that the audition was done and we were sent downstairs to wait for our parents.
The next two months took forever. However, the wait was worth it. I received the congratulatory email stating that I was accepted to attend one of the Rockette Summer Intensive weeks. This process still completely remains the same and as I attend this year for my eighth year I will be one of the longest returning RSI members they have ever had. I was and still am extremely fortunate that this was a dream of mine but more importantly that auditioned changed my life. One day I hope to continue this goal an eventually be a Radio City Rockette.
