Hours before opening night, 25 dancers clad in leotards, leggings and shiny black helmets march in unison, breaking into tight formations then coming together again to the beat of the whimsical music.
Periodically, they pause while a former Rockette named Kathy Dacey places tape on the stage to mark the dancers’ spots. At the end of the number, they salute, then remain in place while Dacey gives instructions. Then it’s on to rehearsing the next number.
For the 56 students in the North East School of the Arts (NESA) dance program, these final rehearsals mark the end of the semester-long preparation for Steppin’ into the Holidays, staged four times in three days.
Now a tradition at the arts-focused magnet program located at LEE High School, Steppin’ into the Holidays traces back to 2003, when Dena Mabry, NESA’s dance director at the time, decided to have a holiday production for dance students at NESA.
She knew she wanted to instill a “Rockette feel” to the show, similar to the annual Christmas Spectacular the renowned dance company stages at Radio City Music Hall in New York: high kicks, precision numbers and elegance. So she called Dacey to help her bring some of that magic to the show she envisioned. Mabry and Dacey met at Oklahoma City University, where they both were students in the school’s acclaimed dance program.
Putting the show on stage came with its own set of challenges. Mabry recalls not having a budget for the show for the first couple of years. It also took some work adapting a famous number the Rockettes perform in their holiday show: a number in which the dancers portray toy soldiers that ultimately fall down in a slow-moving domino fashion. Unlike at Radio City Music Hall, there is no crash pad to cushion the dancers as they fall onto one another.
Now, 20 years after its inception, the show has become a staple at NESA. Although Mabry retired from NESA in May to focus on running her family-owned dance studio, she returned to pair with Dacey to work on the holiday show.
Students look forward to Dacey’s visit every year because they get to spend a week with a former Rockette who can share tips learned from her career as a professional dancer and help elevate the students’ performances. During rehearsals the week before the show, she works with the dancers to polish and refine their movements in every number, a process known as cleaning.
Among the things students learn while preparing for the show with Dacey is “professionalism both on and off stage, perfecting choreography and refining technique,” said Isabella De Leon, a NESA senior at NESA who hopes to pursue a professional dance career. “My favorite part of Steppin’ into the Holidays is spending time and performing with my friends.”
“[Dacey] has an eye for the precision type of stuff,” said Mabry. “Even the non-Rockette type of numbers get much cleaner with her direction.”
This year, Dacey choreographed the Toy Soldiers and Happy Holidays dance numbers, which have been a beloved part of the show every year since the first show.
“Before the dancers even come on stage, when they that trumpet blowing, you hear the collective gasp from the audience from the excitement,” said Dacey.
She choreographed another Rockette-style number, called Holiday Belles, in which dancers play a xylophone mounted on the back of the adjacent performer.
The collaboration between NESA and Dacey is a unique opportunity for students, and it allows them to be exposed to different styles of dance, teaching and professions, a priority of Mabry’s.
“Down here, the kids are great. They really want to learn,” said Dacey. “Everybody tries so hard, and that is something I appreciate about coming down here.”
From the dance students that have walked the halls of NESA, about half a dozen have gone on to attend the Rockette summer training program after going through a highly competitive audition. One former student went on to become a Rockette herself.
Many others have become fantastic professional dancers whose careers have gone “way beyond mine” said Dacey. “It’s nice to be able to say, ‘I taught him down at NESA and now he’s starring in a Broadway show!’”
As the performing arts center at LEE High School begins to fill, students form a tight-knit circle backstage and hold hands as they receive words of encouragement from Dacey, Mabry and dance directors Carolyn Gresham and Anthony Martinez. They squeeze each other’s hands, and when they let go burst into screams, hugging and jumping in excitement.
“It’s exciting for me,” said Dacey. “It’s really exciting for them.”
