12/22/2023
Alexis Payton is a Rockette, a data scientist, and an Honors Carolina alumna. This holiday season she will take the Radio City Music Hall stage almost 100 times to perform in the 90th annual Christmas Spectacular.
Alexis walked through a day in the life of a Radio City Rockette and talked about how her time in Honors Carolina prepared her to balance her creative career with data science.
“On a show day, I wake up a few hours before the show, have breakfast, walk to Radio City Music Hall and head to our athletic training center. I put hot packs on my muscles to warm them up, stretch, and head the dressing room to do my hair and makeup and get dressed for the show,” says Alexis.
After putting on the Rockettes iconic reindeer costume, Alexis and the rest of her cast meet with their dance captain to get notes about their previous performance. Onstage, she and her team perform classic routines like “Rag Dolls” and “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” alongside new numbers like “Dance of the Frost Fairies” which features fairy drones flying above the audience.
Between performances, Alexis hangs out with the other Rockettes in their dressing room and watches movies – Disney hits are a favorite. After her final bow, Alexis takes an ice bath and rolls out her muscles to cool down.
Once home, Alexis goes from Rockette to Rockette Scientist, and starts her other job – working part-time as a data scientist for UNC Center for Environmental, Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology.
“Science is a great mental reprieve – it's completely different from dancing, but also incredibly important to me,” says Alexis. During her time in Honors Carolina, Alexis earned her bachelor's degree in public health and then graduated with a master’s degree in environmental sciences and engineering.
“Studying abroad with Honors Carolina allowed me to explore my public health interests. When I think about Honors Carolina, I think about expanding my horizons and learning from different cultures,” says Alexis.
Alexis continues to hone her data science skills while living her dream of being a dancer and carrying on a 90-year tradition as a Rockette in the Christmas Spectacular.