On Thanksgiving day, Macy’s hosts the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade throughout the streets of New York City. Families all over the nation tune in to see the festive floats and musical performances. This year, thirteen senior Majestics will perform in the 95th annual celebration.
“We found out through an email, and it was a total surprise,” senior Majestic Ella Hersley said. “We were super excited to do it because it’s really a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The Majestics received a package from Spirit of America with makeup and uniforms at the end of October. Spirit of America is a dance and cheer organization that organizes a portion of the parade and invites dancers.
“Everyone was super thrilled to hear about it,” senior Majestic Hannah Brookshire said. “Our director works for the Spirit of America organization, and so we knew she traveled to NYC every year for the parade. We had always hoped to be able to go with her and luckily this year we got the invitation to go.”
The Majestics practice for the performance from videos that Spirit of America provided. The Majestics will fly out to NYC on Friday.
“[The Spirit of America staff will] go through the whole parade with us and we kind of walk and practice,” Brookshire said. “This is our first big parade slash experience, but it’s really cool. I’m really excited to go to New York and perform.”
Mckenzie Aubel is a captain in the Majestics. She has responsibilities for the trip organization and leading the group performances.
“To prepare for this I had to make sure I knew who was going, make sure everyone knew who they wanted to room with and make sure that everyone is learning the routine,” Aubel said.
During their first official parade, the Majestics will perform among 600 other cheer and dance associations in the celebration.
“I was super excited. Getting the opportunity to perform in NYC, not only for an event, but the Macy’s Parade is a once in a lifetime experience,” Brookshire said.
Channels including NBC, CBS and Entertainment Tonight will televise the parade live from 8 a.m. to noon on Thanksgiving day.
“For the experience overall, I have always loved New York but there’s a difference in being a tourist and being a performer,” Brookshire said. “The amount of publicity that surrounds this trip and dedication everyone is putting forth makes it all worth it in the end. I am most looking forward to the bonds that will grow stronger while we are there and the unexpected friendships,”
