Local Rockette Shares Her Leg-acy

Some Baby Boomers dreamt of being Miss America; but a good deal of them longed to be a Rockette, as in the real “Big Apple” Rockettes out of Radio City Music Hall.

Heading into her eighth decade, local dance instructor Sandi Friedman is still kicking and teaching, after generations of cycles. Teaching out of her house since 1982, Friedman explained, “I have celebrated 57 years of teaching dance, though I stopped having recitals and reduced class load during the pandemic. I still teach adult stretch classes, intermediate and advanced tap, private lessons, and also a family of four for two years. Staying active with my students keeps me engaged, fit, and truly happy.”

Sandi and her mother, Marion, dancing together around 1954.

Friedman grew up in Spartanburg, S.C., where her mother founded Miss Marion’s School of Dance. In 1948, she began dancing there at age two, training in ballet, tap, jazz, and acrobatics. Starting at five, she traveled to New York each summer to study dance with professionals. Friedman and her mom stayed with Friedman’s paternal grandmother in Jamaica, Queens, where each visit included a trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes. These experiences ignited her dream of joining their iconic chorus line.

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During her senior year of high school, she contacted the director of the Rockettes, asking for an audition. That April, Friedman rode the subway into the city and recalled, “With nerves tingling with excitement, I stepped into the rehearsal studio and was astonished to find the director. Even more shocking, he recognized me from my picture — being from South Carolina made me memorable among the mostly local New York girls. His recognition gave me the confidence boost I needed.”

First up was measuring her height. Rockettes must stand between 5’5” and 5’8.” At 5’6½,” she fit perfectly. The line includes 36 dancers arranged by height, tallest in the middle and shortest on the ends creating the illusion of uniformity. They were called up one by one, starting with a time step, followed by straight kicks and fan kicks.

She continued, “I began confidently but forgot the choreography midway and had to improvise. They asked for some jazz, and I requested something ‘jivey.’ My Southern accent made everyone laugh, but I shrugged it off and performed a jive routine — repeating steps from my tap dance. Despite feeling flustered, I later realized that they were more interested in observing style and technique than perfect routines.”

Sandi and sister, Lori, in Rockette’s pajamas. Sandi said, “We took the photo in a restaurant and got quite a few stares.”

Only 11 girls were asked to stay. She returned to New York the day after graduation and spent the summer there and learned routines in three days, preparing for a grueling schedule. The Rockettes performed four shows daily. Each show was paired with a movie, running for about five weeks before changing to a new routine.

That August, she went back to study at the University of Georgia, then returned the next summer, and became engaged to Gerald Friedman, and helped her mom at her dance studio in Spartanburg while planning the wedding. After marrying, she moved to Atlanta and taught kindergarten at Ahavath Achim Synagogue. One of the mothers asked if she would teach dance to her daughter’s friends, leading to informal classes in her basement in 1967. The next year, they moved into a house nearby, and Friedman’s classes continued to grow. She also taught tap and jazz to fourth graders through adults at the Ruth Mitchell Dance Studio. In 1982, she moved into her current house.

Friedman summarized, “Dance is more than just a career in my family — it’s a legacy. Thanks to my mother’s passion, 15 of us have either owned studios or taught dance in some capacity. My youngest sister, Lori, also became a Rockette in the 1980s and now runs our mother’s dance school, which will celebrate its 80th recital next year. It brings me immense joy to see my mother’s love for dance continue through the generations.”