The following is a republished press release from a community organization or member and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … click here to submit community announcements directly to The Voice, or contact us at jalmendarez@ithacavoice.com.
Ithaca, NY – November 2,2016 – The just-announced lineup for the 90th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will include 23 dancers from Armstrong School of Dance (ASD). The ASD dancers will perform with the Spirit of America Dance Stars. The parade will also feature the return of the Muppets, Olympians Laurie Hernandez, Claressa Shields, Michelle Carter, Hannah McFadden, and Tatyana McFadden, and entertainers Tony Bennett, Regina Spektor, Sarah McLachlan, and De La Soul.
This year marks the 31st consecutive year that Spirit of America dancers have participated in the parade. Over that time, only three groups have continually participated in “the longest show on Broadway” – Santa Claus, the Radio City Rockettes, and the Spirit of America.
The Armstrong dancers are from Ithaca, Freeville, Lansing, Spencer, and Southern Cayuga Central schools. ASD Director Karen Armstrong Gorsky said that the Spirit of America Dance Stars are recruited from top dance schools throughout the U. S.
“This is a once-in- a-lifetime experience for these students,” Gorsky said. “They are already learning their dance routines using video and will spend most of the week before Thanksgiving in Manhattan working with nationally known choreographers for 6 hours a day. On Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, they will march the 2.6-mile parade route and perform at Herald Square in front of Macy’s.” The parade will be watched by more than 3.5 million people on the streets of Manhattan and more than 50 million people worldwide.
The parade will be broadcast on NBC and via live streaming from 9:00am on Thursday, Nov. 24, hosted by Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, and Al Roker. The best time to see the Spirit of America dancers is likely to be between 10:00am and noon.
Featured photo courtesy of Flickr.