An AP photographer conveys the synchronized movements of the Radio City Rockettes in one shot

NEW YORK (AP) — Julia Nikhinson got her start with The Associated Press as an intern in the New York City bureau in 2022. She then worked as a freelancer in Washington, D.C., until she was hired as a staff photographer last April. She is based in New York.

Why this photo?

I took this photo of the Radio City Rockettes performing their iconic Parade of the Wooden Soldiers dance while working on a photo story about Christmas in New York. This was my first time seeing the Rockettes perform in the Christmas Spectacular, so I was doing my best to capture why people come not only from New York but travel far to see the show. Of course, we’d all seen photos of the Rockettes’ famous kickline, so my goal was to capture the show beyond that.

How I made this photo

Because Radio City Music Hall doesn’t have a photo buffer I was shooting the show from various positions on the sides, back and top of the theater. For this photo, I used my 100-400 mm lens. Here, I was at the back of the theater, as close to center as I could get, so that I could capture the repetitiveness and color of the wooden soldiers against the black background.

Why this photo works

When shooting features like this one, I often strive to accentuate the graphic qualities of my subject. This photo works because viewers are able to follow the line of the falling wooden soldiers through the frame - only the reds, whites and yellows of the costumes popping out. Performances like the Christmas Spectacular are often viewed through video rather than photo, so it was important for me to convey the movement of the dance and how precise it was.

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