Former Radio City Rockette Keltie Knight is a three-time Emmy winner, a red carpet host for E! News, and the co-founder of the LadyGang podcast. Before the red carpet, she was a dancer who got cut from the Rockettes, auditioned for her own job, and danced for the New York Knicks, the Nets, and Beyoncé.

In this episode of Kicking It Real, two former Rockettes talk about what a dance career really looks like behind the kicks. Keltie shares the husband who watched her rehearse Twelve Days and said “it doesn’t look that hard,” missing the 60% list twice, and the audition where she knew it was personal. She opens up about why dancing for Beyoncé still didn’t pay her rent, how she went from professional dancer to TV host, and getting fired from Entertainment Tonight before landing at E!.

We also get into her new book, The F*ck Them Theory, and why she disagrees with The Let Them Theory. She talks about turning rejection into fuel, the Radio City weight letters dancers used to get, ADHD, and her black swan brain. Plus the Rockette exit nobody talks about, what she’d change about how Radio City says goodbye, and the time Sally Field scolded her on the Emmys red carpet.

If you’re a dancer, a former dancer, or anyone figuring out what comes after the thing you loved most, this one is for you.

The F*ck Them Theory is out 11/24. Tour tickets at fthembook.com

Stay in the loop with me 🤍
Instagram & TikTok: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby

Find Keltie here 👇🏼
Instagram: @keltie
Book + tour: fthembook.com

Alyssa Lemons was a Radio City Rockette for ten years, and she was never once on the list. Every single year, she auditioned for her own job. Then one summer, she didn't get it back.
Two former Rockettes, one conversation. We start with the ballet scholarship that ended before her freshman year began, with two partially torn tendons and a ligament in her ankle, and the Radio City touring show she saw that Christmas while still in a boot. From there it's an absolute beginner tap class, the Rockette Summer Intensive invitational week, a Rockette Assistant contract she signed on the spot, and a boot camp with only five new girls.
Then we get into the reality of the job: compartmentalizing through four show days, why the day after is the worst one, saying thank you for every note, and how she turned "they keep hiring me back" into her audition mantra. She opens up about the summer she didn't get the job, trying three therapists, writing letters to herself before the first rehearsal posts went up, and the 5:30 a.m. class where she finally felt relief. Plus how Pilates and a Lululemon ambassadorship gave her a new community, why rookie Rockettes should learn three full push-ups, and what she'd tell herself about owning the title.
If you've ever been scared that you're "just a dancer," this one is for you.
Stay in the loop with me 🤍
Instagram & TikTok: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby
Find Alyssa here 👇🏼
Instagram: @alyssa.lemons.nyc (weekly NYC class schedule, DM for privates)

Amanda Kloots got cut from the Rockettes twice before she booked it. What came after: 16 years of performing, Broadway, a fitness brand, Dancing with the Stars, five seasons co-hosting The Talk, and now her own podcast. And she says none of it was a pivot.
Two former Rockettes, one conversation. We get into what changed between her second and third Rockette audition, surviving the five show day era, and why she left the line for Broadway because she wanted her own character instead of being one of 36. She shares the AK! Rope classes nobody came to for eight months, the Cats cut that made her go all in on her business, and why she calls every career move an enhancement.
Then we go behind the scenes of Dancing with the Stars: why every week is like learning a brand new sport, the advice she gave her friend Jenna Dewan before this season, and why she feels like a better dancer now than ever. Plus what the Rockettes taught her about hosting live TV, how she preps for interviews, why she waited three years to start her grief podcast, whether she'd come back to Broadway as Roxie, and what she'd tell 18 year old Amanda walking into her first audition.
If you've ever stepped away from dance and wondered if you're still a dancer, this one is for you.
Stay in the loop with me 🤍
Instagram & TikTok: @kickingitrealpod @potentiallygabby
Find Amanda here 👇🏼
Instagram: @amandakloots
Podcast: Good Grief
Proper Health: properhealth.com