The company that manages the Radio City Rockettes and the union that represents the dancers said Friday that any performer could choose to skip President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, after criticism online. 
 
 The announcement by Madison Square Garden and the American Guild of Variety Artists came after uproar on social media, with one dancer calling the performance "appalling" and claims that the dancers were being coerced into performing at the ceremony or risk being fired. 
 
 "For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at a particular event, including the inaugural," the company said in a statement. "It is always their choice. In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available." 
 
 The controversy kicked up after Rockette Pheobe Pearl took to Instagram late Thursday to share her frustration at being informed that she would be performing for the President-elect. 
 
 "The women I work with are intelligent and are full of love and the decision of performing for a man that stands for everything we're against is appalling," she captioned a private Instagram post, adding the words "Not My President" to a photo of the dance troupe on stage. 
 
 The New York Post shared the Instagram post early Friday morning and it instantly went viral, with fans on social media praising Pearl and calling for a boycott of the ceremony, while others criticized the dancer for politicizing one of America's oldest performing groups. 
 
 Rumors began spreading on social media that the world famous dancers were told they had to perform at the ceremony, or face termination. ||||| FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013, file photo, the Rockettes perform before the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York. The Radio City Rockettes have been assigned to dance... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — The Radio City Rockettes will be dancing at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next month, but not everyone is kicking up their heels at the booking. 
 
 One of the famed dancers took to Instagram to say she was "embarrassed and disappointed" by the gig, triggering calls for a boycott by some on social media. Critics have posted the phone numbers of the dancers' union and the Rockettes' employer to urge complaints. 
 
 But Madison Square Garden Co., which employs the dancers, said Friday no dancers are being compelled to attend the event. 
 
 "For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at a particular event, including the inaugural," the company said in a statement. "It is always their choice. In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available." 
 
 Many on social media believed attendance was mandatory, including Julissa Sabino, a performer who is part of the union, who tweeted that the issue "breaks my heart" and urged supporters to "help these ladies." Autumn Withers, a former Rockette, supported a boycott, saying "take a knee, ladies!" 
 
 The American Guild of Variety Artists, which represents the Rockettes, has not publicly responded. Many Rockettes — there are 80 women employed for the Christmas show, split into two casts — are employed year-round and also appear in a summer show that debuted this year. 
 
 The Rockettes, who have performed at Radio City Music Hall since the 1930s, have previously appeared in Super Bowl halftime shows, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades and George W. Bush's inaugurations in 2001 and 2005. 
 
 The dancers who choose to attend will join The Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20. Earlier this month, Trump's inaugural committee announced that "America's Got Talent" star Jackie Evancho will be singing the national anthem at the ceremony. 
 
 The presence of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which has performed at several past inaugurations, hasn't been met with universal applause. 
 
 Former choir member John Bonner, for one, said he was shocked and upset when he heard the news. 
 
 "I expect the church to stand on their moral high ground," Bonner told KUTV in Salt Lake City. An online petition calls on the group to re-consider. 
 
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledged that the response to the announcement has been mixed, though church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement that the appearance is a demonstration of support for the office rather than party affiliations or politics. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits ||||| Within hours of confirming plans to appear at the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, the Radio City Rockettes were plunged into a maelstrom of social media outrage on Friday amid reports that the performers were contractually obligated to dance at the ceremony or lose their jobs. 
 
 But as the day wore on, both the Madison Square Garden Company, which manages the Rockettes, and the dancers’ union, the American Guild of Variety Artists, said that any of the dancers could opt out of the Jan. 20 performance in Washington. 
 
 The day of statements followed reports that a Rockette was “embarrassed and disappointed” that the decision to perform had been made for her. The dancer’s private Instagram post was published by the gossip website Perez Hilton and quoted widely by news outlets. That dancer, Phoebe Pearl, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Friday, nor did several of her fellow performers. 
 
 Not long after those reports, a statement relayed through Mikyl Cordova, a spokeswoman for the Madison Square Garden Company, said that dancers’ appearances are voluntary.
– No Rockette will have to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration against her will, the company that manages the dance troupe said Friday after controversy over their scheduled performance erupted. "For a Rockette to be considered for an event, they must voluntarily sign up and are never told they have to perform at a particular event, including the inaugural," the Madison Square Garden Company said in a statement, per NBC. "It is always their choice. In fact, for the coming inauguration, we had more Rockettes request to participate than we have slots available." The dancers' union, the American Guild of Variety Artists, said it had never "demanded" that they play, but merely stated the terms of their contract. Former Rockette Heather Lang, however, tells the New York Times that competition to be in the troupe is so fierce that dancers are likely to feel pressured to perform. "One of the most annoying situations about that job is it’s corporate," she says. "It’s not like a Broadway show where you feel like you have an artistic voice. You're sort of owned by this corporation." Only around a dozen of the 80 Rockettes are full-time employees contractually obligated to appear at events year-round, and the union says participation will be voluntary for them as well. Other artists lined up for Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration include the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The AP reports that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says response to the announcement has been mixed.