Triangle dancers, cheerleaders to kick off the holiday season in NYC. How to watch them
A dozen Triangle performers are off this week on a New York City adventure that will have them dancing, kicking and cheering down Sixth Avenue.
The group — four cheerleaders and eight dancers from Hillsborough Cheer Dance and Gymnastics — will perform in the 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They will join over 500 dancers and 600 cheerleaders from across the nation.
Although they appear every year in the Mebane and Hillsborough holiday parades — and three dancers have been on Broadway in “The Lion King” and at Dance the World Broadway in Times Square — this will be their first time in the Thanksgiving parade.
Performing in front of a nationally televised audience is a huge opportunity, especially for those who want to continue with cheer or dance at college or follow a professional route, they said.
Friendship, fun and footwork
Spirit of America, which sponsors the teams, sent a copy of their routine to the cheerleaders in late summer. The dance moves didn’t arrive until November.
But the Topaz dancers — Kathryn Pattison, Brenna Woodson, Julie Slawter, Camryn Torain, Savanna Holland, Ara Clayton, Sophia Togo and Alex Osswald — said they’re confident about their steps. It’s not unusual to learn a new routine in a few weeks, they said.
Dance is “deep in the heart,” said Torain, 17. “It’s a love and hate relationship.”
“Camryn, don’t say that!” another dancer interjected, and the group laughed.
Dance helps them escape from the world and have a lot of fun, even if it is physically demanding, the young women said, as they listed various knee injuries, bruises and a broken foot.
“I just like all the connections that I’ve made throughout the years; it’s like a second home,” Torain said. “I just love everybody here.”
Dance is “all you think about when you’re here,” Togo added, ”and we’re all best friends.”
A week of work and fun
The week leading up to the parade is intense, with strict curfews and hours of practice, beginning with two sessions totaling seven hours on Sunday, an open-ended session Monday and a three-hour dress rehearsal on Wednesday at Macy’s.
They have to be in costume and ready to go by 6 a.m. Thursday.
But there will be time for fun, too, including a Broadway show, “Hell’s Kitchen,” the Rockettes in the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, stops at local restaurants, and visits to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and other sights.
That’s the best part of the trip, said Jurnee Corpening, a member of the Outlaw team, who said competitive cheerleading has been a positive outlet in her life for 12 of her 15 years.
“I don’t like talking about my feelings, so I express my feelings with cheer and with sports. I take my sports very seriously,” she said.
On Friday, Nov. 22, Corpening will travel to New York with her mom, coach and three fellow cheerleaders: Janae Peoples, Madison Gattis and Caroline Carrington.
She’s looking forward to seeing the Christmas decorations, she said, and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which is 74 feet tall and weighs about 11 tons.
”I’m excited to try the food, and the shopping,” Corpening said, with a big smile. “I’m so excited to go shopping, and spend my mom’s money.”
The Parade: How to watch, what to expect
▪ Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airs live in the Triangle on WRAL (Channel 5 on Spectrum/antenna TV) from 8:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 28, or you can live stream on Peacock.
▪ The route starts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and travels 2 1/2 miles down Sixth Avenue to Macy’s Herald Square on 34th Street.
▪ It features a host of characters and music, including 34 floats, 34 VIP performers, 28 clown crews, 11 marching bands, 11 performance groups, seven self-propelled “balloonicles,” and 22 building-size balloons. There are five new balloon characters this year: Minnie Mouse, Extraordinary Noorah and The Elf on the Shelf, Gabby, Goku and Marshall from “Paw Patrol.”
▪ The costumes: Spirit of America Dance Stars will wear black leather jackets with a hot-pink shirt and skirt set. Spirit of America Cheer members will wear a long-sleeve white shirt and skirt set with a gold star on the front and gold trim. A local nonprofit will collect jackets and other warm clothing that the teams discard before the parade starts and distribute them to people who are homeless.
Spirit of America cheer, dance details
▪ Spirit of America chooses performers from audition tapes and applications, and from summer cheer and dance camps and competitions. Performers are male and female, 13-18 years old for cheerleaders and 14-18 for dancers.
▪ This is the first group going from Hillsborough Cheer Dance and Gymnastics, located on Millstone Drive in Hillsborough. They live in Durham, Cedar Grove, Timberlake, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Cary, Mebane and Burlington.
▪ Teams raise the money to pay for their stay, with packages starting at $2,725 per performer for a group of four per room. Spectators and coaches pay separately. It includes a six-night hotel stay, some meals, performance clothes, and special attractions.
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 8:00 AM.
