In 1922, the choreographer Russell Markert came across a precision dance company from the U.K. called the Tiller Girls. They were known for their ruthlessly synchronized chorus lines, ruler-straight legs, and eye-high kicks delivered with near-military discipline. Markert was smitten. “If I ever got a chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks,” he said, “they’d really knock your socks off.” Markert came home and created his own version of the Tiller Girls, an American troupe that debuted in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1925. Soon the act was brought to Manhattan’s Roxy Theatre as the Roxyettes. In 1932, they began performing at the Radio City Music Hall, and eventually their name changed to the Radio City Rockettes. This year marks the troupe’s 100th anniversary, and in tribute, Sixth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets has officially been renamed “Rockettes Way.” —Elena Clavarino