As a very little girl, Hannah Ellington Sides saw the Radio City Rockettes dance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and knew immediately that she wanted to be a Rockette “when she grew up!” She started working toward that goal at age 3, studying tap, jazz, ballet, and modern dance with Mona Rice and Susie Michaud. By middle school, she was well prepared for new challenges and joined the Granite State Ballet and ultimately the Boston Youth Moves Dance Ensemble with the Jeanette Neill Studio in Boston.Anxious to find every opportunity to be on stage and to dance, Hannah became involved in Theatre at the Mount at age 5, when she made her stage debut as a “lost boy” in Peter Pan in 1993. The next 10 years saw her TAM credits expand to over 20 shows including Really Rosie, The Dancing Spider, Damn Yankees, Annie Warbucks, Sound of Music, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Music Man and Children of Eden, and most recently Babes in Arms (summer of 2005). Throughout elementary and middle school, Hannah suffered from scoliosis and worried that she might not grow tall enough to meet the height requirements for the Rockettes.
While attending Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School, Hannah traveled into Boston six days a week to polish her art. The Jeanette Neill Studio opened many doors for her and in 2001 she had her first professional dance job, performing for Champion Sportswear’s National Sales Meeting in Key West, Florida. She went on to perform at the Central Massachusetts Symphony Christmas Pops Concert (2002-2004) and in the Pre-Show for the Cher Concert at Mohegan Sun in 2002.
Hannah was the recipient of the Dorothy Roger Conneely Memorial Scholarship Award at the Jeannette Neill Studio and in 2000 took first place in tap at the “I Love Dance” International Competition held in New York. During the summers of 2003 and 2004 she danced at the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival under famed choreographer Chet Walker.
Upon graduation from Monty Tech, Hannah (delighted to be grown to 5 foot 7) set her sights on New York and planned on moving to the Big Apple to study acting and dance and to make the rounds of auditions. Not surprising, Hannah’s very first audition came in June of 2005 for none other than the Radio City Rockettes. Competing against 400 other dancers for approximately 10 vacancies, Hannah moved easily from one cut to the other and in August she was notified that her lifelong dream had come true!
Life became a whirlwind in October as Hannah (at age 18, the youngest of the Rockettes) made the move to New York and began rehearsals for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. Press appearances, costume fittings and learning 8 dance routines in just one week made for an extremely hectic schedule. The holiday performance schedule began on November 2 with an average of 15 shows per week through New Years. She is proud to be a part of the 74 year legacy of the Rockettes (founded in 1932) and hopes to return to perform with them next season.
Hannah returned home to Westminster for a well-deserved rest for most of January. She has gone back to New York where she intends to continue her dance training at “Steps” and “Broadway Dance Center” and to audition for Summer Stock, Touring and Broadway productions.
Having achieved her lifelong goal at age 18, what’s next for Hannah? Having seen her shine as a Rockette we have no doubt that Hannah is destined for Broadway and we will watch her career with great interest. Theatre at the Mount is proud to claim Hannah Ellington Sides as “our very own Rockette!”