You may already know most of the stars of Radio City Music Hall’s “Christmas Spectacular”: Santa Claus, his elves, and of course the legendary long-legged Rockettes. But this year, they will share the stage with some crazy new performers, who will make their own buzz.

We are talking about drones, 100 of which will be added to the Rockettes stage in a new finale called “Christmas Lights” on November 9th.
“They are like small characters themselves,” Rockettes creative director Karen Keeler told The Post that the palm-sized drone appears to have emerged from the Polaris, which lights up the birth scene of life, just before the finale. . “They are very light, they are very small, but they emit a lot of energy and a lot of power and a lot of beauty.
The flying flashes are designed to enhance the legendary movements and presence of Rockettes itself, and they receive new outfits to match this new number – the first new ending in five years.

Designer Emilio Sosa told The Post that unlike the tight-fitting silver dress they used to wear in the end, this year’s clothing is a “color explosion.” “The drone is a modern version of our Christmas lights,” Sosa said, “Project Runway” alumni and Tony-nominated fashion designer. “For clothing, I was inspired by retro Christmas lights, lights with green lines and really colorful bulbs – ruby, emerald, sapphire.”

The pattern on the dancer’s tan mesh echoes the Christmas tradition that Sosa recalls – that is, you have a bunch of messy lights, then plug them in to see which lights are working and which are not. He recreated this entanglement by collecting 3,069 Swarovski crystals in 11 shades of jewels on each garment. But these gems didn’t put pressure on the dancers: “It’s comfortable and very light,” said 32-year-old Rockette Alissa LaVergne.

The cover of the new outfit is also in stark contrast to other fascinating, classic Rockette looks, including strapless, candy-striped tights. “High collar and long sleeves,” Sosa said. “The legs become stars, and shoes become a thing.
In fact, shoes are “one thing” – custom paint to match each dancer’s skin tone and “stretch the legs,” Sosa said. Each pair shines with 572 hand-bonded crystals that capture and reflect more light on the stage. The smaller colored stones are set in Rockettes’ new gold cloche-style headwear, which is custom-made for each dancer’s head and has stitches that pass through the tiny mesh.

When you design for a dancer, like Sosa, the dress must have a stylish function: “From my point of view, the garment always follows the movement,” Sosa said.

During the accessories, Rockettes had to try their high kicks and erect their arms as they did during the show. There are even some hidden design adjustments to prevent the wardrobe from malfunctioning, including a skin-colored elastic ring that passes through the dancer’s middle finger to ensure the sleeves remain on their arms. There is also a large amount of double-sided tape backstage to ensure that no dancer’s clip-on earrings fly and keep their laces flat.
Clothing also needs to be easy to get up and down, because Rockettes needs to make crazy and quick changes between scenes. Each of the 36 dancers on the stage has eight different costumes.

Sosa said: “Sometimes I say that the background shows are as big as the shows on the stage.”

“They choreographed everything,” said 28-year-old Megan Levinson, a New Jersey native who started her ninth season as a Rockets. “Who changed who, we took off and put on the order. Every two Rockettes have a dressing table, where there is a compact quarter. That’s the order we did for 102 shows. We won’t change it.”
Born in LaVergne, Texas, and a nine-year-old Rockette, he told the Washington Post that the toughest change was between their “Wooden Soldiers Parade” show and the 40s-style coat. The biggest change. “New York Christmas” number.

“We are no longer soldiers, so we wear socks, shoes, soldier pants, jackets, gloves, [sticked to red paper] cheeks, hats, and wig hats,” LaVergne said. “We still have 78 seconds to take off everything, put on shoes, dresses, coats, earrings, gloves and gloves – and have a bright smile.”

Finally, the final director, Sam Buntrock, said that the combination of lively live dance and cutting-edge technology should dazzle the audience.
“I hope people don’t understand what they just saw, or how it happened, [like] a magic trick,” Buntrock said, his work in the UK and Broadway includes “The Rocky Horror Photo Exhibition” and ” on Sunday”. And George is in the park. ”

Buntrock said the goal is to give the performer a “feel like you look”