An Early 'Christmas Spectacular' Comes to New Canaan

It was ‘a little bit of Christmas right this very minute’ for a group of seniors at the New Canaan Inn Tuesday afternoon.

Nearly three dozen residents of the independent living center on Oenoke Ridge were given an early holiday treat when members of the Radio City Rockettes visited and shared some of the secrets of their holiday trade.

Rockettes Sarah Grooms, originally from Columbus OH, and Kim Nassif, a New MIlford, CT native, enraptured the seniors as they spoke of their six-day a week, eight-hour day rehearsals in preparation of the Christmas spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall that debuts Nov. 13 and continues through Jan. 3. (Their rehearsals begin on Friday.) They also participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the tree-lighting at Rockefeller Center.

Their effervescent personalities easily engaged the seniors who asked about their training, their rehearsal and show schedules, costume changes and personal lives.

The residents were surprised that a Rockette must have a minimum height of 5-feet-6 inches and can’t be any taller than 5-feet-10 ½ inches and that there isn’t a mandatory retirement age.

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Nassif, who’s been a member of the fabled troupe for 14 years after being selected as one of six in a tryout of 500 candidates, explained how the dancers have just 80 seconds to change costumes eight times during the holiday show.

Grooms told the seniors that she aspired to be a Rockette after beginning dance lessons at the age of 3. She was chosen to be a Rockette at age 18 — the minimum age — and has been with the troupe for nine years. She aspired to be a Rockette after seeing pictures of her dance teacher — who was a Rockette, in the holiday costumes that dazzle thousands every year.

And it was Grooms who convinced 95-year-old David Brown to take his wife Charlotte, who’s also 95, for a ‘date night’ to see the Christmas Spectacular.

“I’ve seen you many times and will anytime I get a chance,” Charlotte Brown said. Grooms then took David’s hand and asked him to promise to come and see this year’s holiday show, to which David wisely agreed to take Charlotte to an afternoon show to see both Grooms and Nassif perform.

Charlotte added, “This has been very splendid and I would thank these beautiful, charming young ladies for being here.”

But before the ‘date night’ proposal for the Browns, the Rockettes posed for a photo with Ron Barlow, a Mamaroneck, NY native who was celebrating his 85th birthday on Tuesday. He said he first saw the Rockettes perform in 1947 when a fellow Mamaroneck resident was a member of the group.

Barlow quipped, “It’s like the President when you hear click, click, click,” as photographers snapped pictures of him with Grooms and Nassif.

After their visit in New Canaan, Grooms and Nassif visited Rosie’s Frozen Yogurt in Old Greenwich, in partnership with Patch, where dozens of youngsters — many aspiring dancers — squealed in delight as they met the dancers and posted for photos while practicing their kicks inside the Sound Beach Avenue yogurt shop.

Performances of the 2015 Radio City Christmas Spectacular begin Nov. 13, and run through Jan. 3, at Radio City Music Hall.

For ticket information, log onto radiocitychristmas.com or check out the Rockettes on their Facebook page.

Photos: Ron Barlow with the Rockettes; the Rockettes with residents of the New Canaan Inn and with David Brown and his wife Charlotte. Credit: Barbara Heins.