Job Title: Rockette Employers: Radio City Music Hall Openings: Auditions are held every year in New York and several other cities Salary Cap: Low five figures for the Christmas show Number of Jobs: 80 in New York, 120 on tour

Alison Levenberg get chills when she performs the finale of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, New York's quintessential family holiday show.

Called "Let Christmas Shine" and created last year for the Rockettes' 75th anniversary, the piece features Levenberg and 35 other women clad in costumes lined with 3,000 Swarovski crystals each, their faces made up and smiling under the bright lights, and all of them dancing in unison. The final sequence is the infamous kickline, with the dancers' arms encircled and legs kicking to eye level. It's quintessentially Rockette, and that's why Levenberg loves it.

"It's stunning, [it's got] the entire package—words, story, the hope of Christmas," says Levenberg, who's been a Rockette for the last five years. "It's the epitome of what being a Rockette is about." (To see a slideshow of the Rockettes over the years, click here.)

Growing up in Norwich in the U.K., Levenberg had never heard of the Rockettes, save for a mention in one of her favorite movies, A Chorus Line. Some professional dancing jobs led her to the stage in New York, however, where she befriended several Rockettes and then was blown away when she went to see the show in 2003. Her friends persuaded her to audition and to her surprise and delight, she was picked to join the group two years later.

For the Christmas show, Levenberg begins four-and-a-half weeks of intensive rehearsals in mid-September to get the group moving as one. Precision and uniformity are the hallmarks of the Rockettes, and all dancers must be between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 ½ inches tall—no exceptions. 

"We must make sure [the dancing is] consistent and precise, keep our kicks high, so that it's the same show every time," says Levenberg.

An hour before the 90-minute show starts, the performers must warm up and get their hair and makeup done. Besides the choreography that audiences see, an equally elaborate one occurs backstage as dancers endure eight costume changes and moving set pieces. And they're not the only performers in the show. There are animals, singers, other dancers, and even fireworks.

"The show is so fast-paced and intensive. There's no time to think. It's go, go, go," says Levenberg.

An hour and a half later, Levenberg starts preparing for the next show, with as many as six performances a day on Saturdays in December. On those days, she starts with a 9 a.m. show and goes on until 11:30 at night, when the last show ends.

Besides the eight-week performance schedule, the Rockettes participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony, as well as events throughout the year that in the past have included Super Bowl halftime performances, charity events, movie premieres held at Radio City, and the 2001 presidential inauguration (no word yet on whether they'll be performing at Obama's 2009 inauguration). Aside from the 80 Rockettes who perform at Radio City, another 120 Rockettes go on tour across the country during the year. When Levenberg isn't performing in New York, she auditions for and performs as a dancer in Broadway shows.

Despite the physical demands, it's a job many dream of, with as many as 500 people auditioning for the gig in New York each year alone. "The thrill of performing is seeing the happiness on people's faces," says Levenberg.