Join Us

In the summer of 1986, members of the RGMC saw and fell in love with the Emerald City Stompers, a tap-dancing troupe from Seattle. The fledgling RGMC had flown to Minneapolis to attend the second Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) Festival, and there discovered not only beautiful choral singing, but dance!

Upon returning from Minneapolis, the chorus decided that Rochester needed a dance troupe too! Telephone calls started to Jerry Algoser, who recommended Cayla Allen as a potential

choreographer, and she said YES for the next 20 years! It was decided that the initial troupe would be limited to 8 dancers, and auditions were held. The first Rochettes were David Merrit, Michael Holden, David Knoll, David Skinner, Randy Wiscomb, Charles Weber, Chuck Lundeen, and bruce d. mcClung, who is credited with naming the “Rochettes” in homage to the Radio City Rockettes!

With the first Rochette troupe assembled, the first performance would be SIX WEEKS later for a debut at a GALA exchange concert in Detroit, Michigan! From there, the Rochettes would go on to dance in cities stretched across the map from Seattle to Tampa, from Montreal to Toronto, from Chicago to Jones Pond Campground!

For many years, the Rochettes sang while tap dancing. Remember “On the Good Ship Lollipop” in Shirley Temple drag? That’s a good example of what the Rochettes brought to many concerts. Some would say the dancers were “lavender lovelies” providing a relief valve during more serious concerts. Others have said of our dance, “It was another vulgar spectacle.” We can own both of those descriptors as we’ve chosen to celebrate our bodies and experiences as gay men through dance.

What seems a distant, though important, part of our history is that the RGMC and the Rochettes were born during the beginning of the AIDS crisis. Standing up and singing for and dancing for our lives was a reality. With gay men, lovers, and friends dying around us, it was imperative that we bring beauty and laughter and dignity into our shared lives and into the public sphere.

For nearly 40 years, the Rochettes have taken to the stage, often in colorful costumes, with as many as 15 dancers and as few as five. To date, more than 70 performers have stepped into dance shoes as Rochettes, and all have been shaped by dedicated choreographers like Cayla Allen, Ericka Atkinson, and Jamie Lee Proteus. In dance studios across Rochester, our choreographers have taken us from basic tap to jazz squares to hip hop - all on a count of 8 - and we are grateful!

We find ourselves in the 2020s and again (or still) singing and dancing for our lives; this time in the face of legislation aimed at erasing our identity and denying our trans siblings healthcare. As long as we have breath and can count to 8, we won’t stop dancing for the inclusion of, and celebration of, our LGBTQ+ lives. Thank you, Rochester, for your support all along the way.

Want more information on how to join the Rochettes? Email rochettes@thergmc.org.