Her memoirs paint perhaps the most detailed picture of Rockette life during the troupe’s heyday. If you’re looking for scandal or expose, this may not be the memoir for you. However, if you really want to know the history of this amazing dance line, there may be no better account than the one contained in these pages.
Corliss was the unofficial historian of the Rockette Alumnae for several decades. Her personal knowledge about Rockette creator Russell Markert, the Music Hall itself and the history of the dance troupe is unparalleled and her telling of a Rockette’s day-to-day existence is a wonderfully detailed behind the scenes journey.
Corliss’s life didn’t lose any luster when she left the Hall. She followed her professional dance career by raising a family, launching what became an iconic business on Fire Island, NY, and creating a precision line of dancers during her golden years.
Corliss served as choreographer and lead dancer of the “Seasoned Steppers,” a dance line featuring women over age 65 who performed throughout NY, in Branson, MO and in Las Vegas. She continued to perform until just weeks before her death at age 83.
Beyond sharing many wonderful stories about her life in and after the Rockettes, this memoir is inspiring as an example of how to live life to its fullest.
Corliss Fyfe Whitney was an extraordinary person who always lived in the present, but loved her past. In these pages she tells the wonderful behind-the-scenes stories of one of the great American theatres, Radio City Music Hall. Her descriptions of the amazing shows, the lavish sets, the beautiful Rockettes and the pitfalls of dancing behind an elephant bring to life a very special time and place in American entertainment history. For those of us who were there, it will bring back wonderful memories; for those of you who were not fortunate enough to have been there, Corliss creates an unforgettable picture of what you missed.
As someone who shared the same stage with Corliss, reading her book was a wonderful trip down memory lane. Corliss made it her mission to document as much Rockette history as she could learn. Of course, every past or present Rockette will treasure this book, but I’ll bet you’ll appreciate it even if you never danced a step in your life!