Rockettes Kick Off The Holiday Season in Northport

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Don’t tell their teachers, but Tori Howard, 9, and Charlotte Lynn, 9, played hookie to meet the Rockettes, who stopped by Northport Village Hall on Wednesday while school was still in session.

The two fourth graders at Bellerose Elementary School love to dance and Charlotte says she wants to be a Rockette one day.

The Rockettes, Eleni Gavalos, a Manhasset native, and Jennifer Clavin, a Holtsville native, offered advice to the two girls and gave them some insight on what it’s like to be a Rockette.

With a 5-foot-6 inch height requirement to become a Rockette, the 9-year-olds have some growing up to do.

Gavalos and Clavin have been Rockettes for four and eight seasons, respectively. When they aren’t in rehearsal for six hours a day, six days a week, the women both work as fitness instructors and teach dance classes. “Dance, eat and sleep,” Clavin said with a laugh.

The two women made a trip to Northport to meet members of the community before beginning rehearsals Friday in preparation for the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.”

“It’s refreshing to be back in the community and to spread the Christmas cheer,” said Gavalos, a 2011 graduate of Manhasset High School.

Even Northport Mayor George Doll stopped by to pose in a traditional Rockette stance for the occasion. His 3-month-old grandson named George also got his own photo op. (See photos above)

“It’s an honor to be a part of this tradition every year,” said Clavin, a 2008 graduate of Sachem High School East.

The two Rockettes posed in front of the Northport Village sign for a Snapchat story, which caught the eye of Northport High School tenth grader Taylor Schmitt, who was still in school at the time.

Schmitt told her mom, “We need to get to Northport Village.” Her mom took her out of school early so she could meet the Rockettes. The high schooler, like the Rockettes, dedicates much of her life to dance and spoke to both Gavalos and Clavin about their favorite experiences as a Rockette.

Despite both growing up on Long Island, neither Rockette has visited Northport before. They agreed to come back one day to try out the many dining options in Northport Village.

Gavalos and Clavin spent the day touring Long Island towns promoting the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” in partnership with Patch.

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

To purchase tickets, visit radiocitychristmas.com or the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular’s” Facebook page for more information and to see pictures from other meet and greets.