Rockette By Night

As the “Rockettes” sign raised to reveal its namesake dancers and the crowd roared during Tiffany Billings’ first show as a member of the famous performance group, goosebumps covered her body and tears welled up in her eyes. “I couldn’t believe that I was living my dream,” she says. “I still get the same feeling during every show when I look out over the crowd, especially at Radio City Music Hall.”

Billings started dancing at the age of three, and, on the weekends, also regularly visited a local dairy farm. “I never cared about the ice cream or the cows, but I was so infatuated with the horses,” she says.

That infatuation led to riding lessons throughout her childhood, however, when the time came to make the choice whether she would fully commit to dance or continue riding, she made the tough choice to stop riding in order to make a career out of dancing.

Her sacrifice paid off when, at just 18 years old, Billings went to a call for the Rockettes at the suggestion of her dance instructor. Known for their eye-high kicks and precision tap and jazz routines, Billings excitedly accepted the opportunity when she was asked to join the national tour after her first audition—even though her main focus had always been ballet and she had originally planned to join a ballet company. “It was such a challenge for me to dance in a different way,” she says.

Billings was asked back on tour for a second year before being added to the New York cast for her third year. She is now in her ninth overall year and second as a full-time Rockette, and plans on staying on as a cast member as long as she can. “I don't think I can imagine myself doing anything else,” Billings says.

When she first got switched to the New York cast, Billings realized that she missed riding and, because her career was seasonal, she had the chance to get back into it. “I really wanted to start taking lessons and be part of a barn family again,” she says.

One day in 2014, she picked up her younger sister from a riding lesson at Trowbridge’s LTD in Bridgewater, CT, and Billings’ knew she had found the right place. She began taking lessons at the Arabian breeding and training farm, working on the flat to perfect her gaits and transitions. “Getting into the Arabians and hunter pleasure was the perfect thing for me because of my career schedule,” Billings explains. “And, in both riding and dance I'm always trying to improve—there's always something new to learn, there's always something different that I can do to make it better, and that just always keeps me going,” she adds.

Billings’ profession allows her to impart her knowledge on fellow riders as well, teaching clients at Trowbridge’s about body awareness. “It's really interesting the way that we work and the way that the horses work,” she says. “I think we focus on the horse so much sometimes that we forget what our body is doing, and what our body is doing makes a difference in what the horse looks like.”

After earning unanimous reserve in Half-Arabian/Anglo-Arabian Hunter Pleasure Adult Amateur to Ride at the Ohio Half Arabian Horse Association Concurrent Spring Show last year, Billings’ goal this year is to compete with her best friend in the U.S. Open Arabian Horse Show during the Central Park Horse Show in September. “It would be great to have my two worlds collide like that,” she says.

Come October, Billings and the other Rockettes will begin learning the dances for the 2019 Christmas Spectacular. Rehearsal will go from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, then, for two weeks they will have “tech rehearsals” at Radio City Music Hall where they will add the finishing touches before it’s finally showtime. The holiday season will be full of appearances for Billings, from America's Got Talent and the Today Show to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting. “I've been given so many great opportunities,” she says. “I perform a lot and that is something that I love and am super passionate about.”

And, when the curtains have closed on the last show of the holiday season, Billings will once again be back at the barn. “When it’s quieter at Radio City I have a lot of time to ride and spend time at the farm,” she says. “That's my happy place.”

Originally published in Northeast Equestrian Life