In the midst of the holiday season, a video is going viral showing the legendary Rockettes toy soldier routine, and it’s sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!
The video opens with the dancers taking the stage wearing full toy soldier costumes that include a tall feathery hat. They then line up and start to shuffle in unison as the music plays, parting to form two lines.

The toy soldiers then break apart and give their own unique flourish before they begin dancing in unison while they bend, spin, and salute.
When they eventually turn and reach their arms forward, the audience goes into shock with what they do next! At the end of the stage, one toy soldier can be seen manning a cannon, which is fired to reveal a flag that says “Boom.”

The other toy soldiers stay in formation as the dancer manning the cannon moves forward towards them. Moving almost in slow motion, each dancer locks their arms in around the person in front of them and they all fall down. It’s effectively like a domino affect as each soldier goes down!

The Rockettes have been performing this move since 1933, with Christmas Spectacular Director and Choreographer Julie Branam explaining that “the key to the fall is perfect alignment between the dancers.”
“It starts by having someone rock up on their heels and start to go back,” she added. “You raise your hands up, slide your hands through, and open your arms. Their feet have to be completely lined up because you don’t want the fall to go one way or another because someone could get hurt.”
Check out the move for yourself below!
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