How the Radio City Rockettes Make a Living Outside Christmas Spectacular — Including Their Surprising Off-Season Jobs (Exclusive)

The grind just doesn’t stop for the Radio City Rockettes!

The professional dancers who perform in Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular between November and January each year certainly have a busy schedule as they work to perform multiple shows a day each week during the holiday season, but some add even more to their plate to make a living.

During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of premiere night, the three Radio City Rockettes — Britain Feeny, Alexis Payton and Jordan Betscher — gave a glimpse into their lives as permanent performers on this year’s lineup, while also sharing their off-season professions.

“Everybody’s doing something different,” Betscher told PEOPLE of her fellow Rockette’s career outside of the Christmas Spectacular calendar. “We have some full-time moms, we have some full-time accountants. It’s really different for everyone.”

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Alexis Payton is front and center as the Radio City Rockette in the Christmas Spectacular.

MSG party

While being a Rockette is “absolutely” a full-time job during the season, Payton — who is in her fourth season with the cast — said she also works as a data analyst. “We have some people who are accountants, we have some people who work in HR,” she said of several of her cast mates.

“I know some women are definitely balancing full-time jobs,” she added, noting that her career as a data analyst is “thankfully” only part-time. “I don’t juggle as much. But it’s also something I do in the off-season – and it’s something I’m also very passionate about.”

Payton explained, “It’s within the domain of public health, I like to say. I actually have a master’s degree in environmental engineering, so I spend the first few hours of my day as a data analyst. I do that year-round.”

Although the three women did not disclose their salaries during interviews, the weekly base rate for the Rockettes was previously reported to be $2,627.51, according to an open casting call posted on the official website this year.

The The New York Times compared the Rockette’s salary to that of a Broadway performer, according to a 2005 report. According to Playbill, that’s roughly $2,439 a week (although the Rockettes are in the American Guild of Enterprising Artists, not Equity Union Broadway).

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Britain Feeny rehearses with the Radio City Rockettes for the Christmas Spectacular.

MSG party

There are 84 Rockettes in all, divided into two lineups of 36. Payton, who is in the evening lineup this year, says she will work her part-time job in the morning before heading to Radio City Music Hall for the back half of the day.

“I spend the first few hours of my day as a data analyst. I do that all year round. I do public health research,” she explained. “I’ll do everything from checking my email, analyzing data, and contributing to manuscripts—and after that I’m ready to perform at 4:00 or 5:00 p.m.”

Betscher, who is in her eighth season as a Radio City Rockette, works as a freelance dancer in New York when it’s not the holiday season. “I audition, I work in TV, film and theater – and I always go to classes to make sure I stay in top shape,” she said.

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Rockette Jordan Betscher smiles in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular dressing room.

MSG party

During the non-holiday months, Betscher said she and the Radio City Rockette cast will sometimes have related duties, such as extra shows or social media duties. “We also have some off-season events,” she said.

“We performed at the Tony Awards. We also performed at the VMA Awards. Last year we performed at the Cheetah Awards in New York,” said Betscher. “We do a lot of things in the off-season to keep it fresh and survive. You know?”

Feeny is also a freelance dancer. “I audition and I just love to dance, I do loads of work in the off-season when I can,” she says, though she notes that this year she’s focused on all things Christmas Spectacular.

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The Rockettes perform the “Parade of Wooden Soldiers”.

Doug Gifford/Getty

“During this season, I’m just a Rockette,” she said. “That’s what I’ve put in the forefront because that’s all I feel like I have time and energy for … I just want to make sure that I’m giving this my full attention, obviously, for the two months that we’re performing.”

However, Feeny acknowledged the additional responsibilities she has after the season officially ends. Above all, she says Christmas is “at the forefront” of her mentality when it’s not the holidays, so she’ll continue to “work out” and “take dance classes” to keep her “active” year-round.

“We’re going to have some events here and there,” Feeny said. “But we’re full-time Rockettes during the Christmas season.”

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Source: HIS Education