ORLANDO, Fla. – Jeanette Dustan always wanted to be a Rockette when she was a little girl. Recently, she got to show the legendary Radio City dancers that she still has moves to spare.
Dustan, 91, is an award-winning ballroom dancer who recently performed for a senior living community in The Glades at ChampionsGate, where she lives. When the community learned about her dream, they organized a special trip to New York City for Dustan.
“In the ‘40s we used to come up and see (The Rockettes),” Dustan said. “They just were brand new, somewhere around that time. We did go backstage when I was about a teenager. It was fascinating, but you had to go fast.”
Dustan said she tried to join The Rockettes, but she wasn’t tall enough. Back then you had to be 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 6 inches tall, she said.
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But Dustan made a career in dancing after all. As a ballroom dancer, she won competitions dancing the tango, foxtrot and rumba. A new age category had to be created so Dustan could continue, because it only went up to 80 years old.
As part of the trip, Dustan got to tour Radio City Music Hall, where she watched a performance from what the tour guide called “the best seat in the house.” Then she went backstage to meet the dancers. And as they lined up for a photo, a man helped Dustan get ready to do a split.
“People get injured doing this,” the man said.
But the 91-year-old scoffed and slid to the ground in a perfect split, to the delight of those around her.
The Rockettes were formed in St. Louis in 1925, and started dancing at Radio City in 1932.
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