Local Students to Perform in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Three local high school seniors will perform in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. 

Denielle Alvarez , Amanda Czarnota and Jessica Shoemaker, all from Huntley, will join an elite group of 700 cheerleading and dance team members representing Varsity Spirit and the Universal Dance Association performance team, according to a Spirit of America Productions press release.  
Each dancer used personal funds to participate at the national event, according to the news release. 

This will be the 20th year that Varsity Spirit has teamed up with Spirit of America Productions to give this opportunity to cheerleaders and dance team members who qualified at camps across the country to perform at this year’s parade.  

Spirit of America hosts two featured performances in the parade. Cheerleaders and dancers from across the country are invited to perform a nationally televised, showcased performance LIVE on NBC each Thanksgiving in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, one of the most celebrated parades in the world.

The combined group of dancers and cheerleaders will spend the week before Thanksgiving in New York City sightseeing and rehearsing for their performance on Thanksgiving Day.  

This year’s performance team will show their spirit along the streets of Manhattan from Central Park West and 78th Street down to 34th and Seventh Avenue. The parade culminates in Herald Square with a televised performance of the spirited routine they have spent the week rehearsing, according to the news release.