"Five, six, seven, eight. And nice big smile!" said Levesque, wearing a tiny white Rockette outfit and flicking her gorgeous gams in front of a TV camera crew.

"While we're doing our kicks, we're always looking out and into the audience with our big smiles."

The chipper musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dancer - one of two Canadian Rockettes who will perform in the show, set to begin Tuesday - was demonstrating the group's trademark eye-high kick routine.

The leggy female chorus line, a holiday staple in New York City, originated over 75 years ago, when a musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dance pack from St. Louis was discovered by showman S.L. (Roxy) Rothafel.

He brought them to Manhattan, introduced them to choreographer Russell Markert, and they had their first "Christmas Spectacular" at Radio City Music Hall in 1933.

The troupe performed there year-round for 50 years before cutting the schedule down to just the annual winter show and various public appearances throughout the year.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular has also travelled through several cities in the United States over the years, but never ventured north of the border until now.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular is scheduled to run at the city's Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts until Dec. 31. It's also showing in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Nashville and, of course, New York, where 72 musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dancers from the 300-member Rockette team are stationed.

The Toronto show is set to include 20 Rockettes (two of them are substitutes) as well as male musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dancers, children and various singing acts.

Some of the Rockette routines will be the same ones performed by the original troupe, including "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers."

Audiences will also see some contemporary elements, including a scene in which Mrs. Claus asks some of Santa's helpers to contact him on his beeper and Palm Pilot.

To become a Rockette, women have to be at least 18 years old and between five-foot-six and five-foot-10-and-a-half.

The taller women musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dance in the centre of the kick line and the heights are tapered out to the ends of the line.

Levesque, who stands five-foot-eight, joined the troupe in June 2002 after an audition in Chicago.

She said many people don't realize it, but the musical forms or genres." target=_blank>dancers don't actually touch each other while kicking up their heels on the chorus line.

She and 19-year-old Amy Biddle of Regina are the two Canadian Rockettes on the kick line in Toronto, although there are several other Canucks in the U.S. shows.

Levesque said she and Biddle are thrilled to finally be doing the can-can on home turf.

"I always had that dream when I was a kid (of) going to see the Rockettes," she said. "But I never thought it could actually become a reality."

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