Under the leadership of two tireless directors, Florence Rogge and Russell Markert, the Radio City Music Hall is in truth a dance center, giving work to a great many dancers, boasting the only permanent and resident corps de ballet in America and housing the greatest precision group in the world. The ballet purist may sneer at some of the ballet presentations. Where is the Danilova, the Markova, the Dolin? Who ever heard of creating new choreography for the familiar music of Les Sylphides? Nevertheless, Florence Rogge has given the public the classical ballet and she has made them love it. Old works have had to be adapted to the hugeness of the great stage and spectacle has been created to delight a "movie"-going audience, but the ballet dancers display an enviable mastery of classical technique and when it comes to precision and unity of action, they can shame any corps de ballet that I have ever seen.
The lovely, poised director of this corps de ballet was once the terror of her family. As a youngster she tried to put Theda Bara to shame with the zest of her acting, and neighbors must have been used to the sight of the young tragedienne issuing expiring gasps for an imaginary audience. No one will ever know whether Miss Rogge's early melodramatics in the living room could have led her to dramatic eminence on the stage. She displays no curiosity along that line of thought, and seems content with her non-acting fame as associate producer of stage shows at the Music Hall and director of its corps de ballet.
Forty million fans have seen Florence Rogge's dancing girls. Perhaps these millions couldn't call off the names at the right moment, but they have been thrilled to "renverses," "tour jetes," "fouettes" and the rest; they have been introduced to brilliance, the classic line, the grace and the beautiful designs of the ballet; and those who saw the recent Chopiniana and the current Harlequinade have watched one of the most brilliant guest stars that any organization could have, Paul Haakon.
In order to retain the excellence of the corps de ballet, the youthful Florence Rogge requires stiff admission try-outs, daily rehearsals and frequent periods when the girls go back to the old ballet barre to remind themselves of the fundamental technique of their work. Thirty-two girls are constantly dancing, and a unit of ten is constantly on vacation, so that a theatrical relay race is the result. In rehearsal, Miss Rogge and her assistants tighten the ballet, clear up musical problems and see that Phyllis's face is facing the audience. Since the inception of the Music Hall seven years ago, the ballet girls have worn out ten thousand pairs of ballet slippers in order to keep fine ballet before the eyes of the public. Miss Rogge, who works harder than all her girls, has worn well, and looks as if she were still in her teens.