Christmas in New York is always made more special because of the Rockettes.

Every year, members of the precision dance company, seen here as they rehearse for this year's Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York on Thursday, put on a spectacle that has become one of the city's most hallowed holiday traditions, a quintessential part of the Christmas-in-New York experience that draws tourists and locals alike.

The holiday show, which started in 1933, begins on Nov 13 and runs until Jan 3 at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

Perhaps the dancers' best-known routine is an eye-high high kick in perfect unison, in a chorus line, which they include at the end of every performance.

Every Rockette must be between about 1.7m and 1.8m tall.

The illusion that all the dancers are the same height is created by placing the tallest women at the centre of the line and then in descending height order to both the ends.