In the midst of all the colorful floats and groups participating, the Spartanaires drill team will be dancing with many other drill teams in this year’s televised event. During the weeklong Thanksgiving break, the team will fly out to New York to take part in the event and festivities.
As it continues to impact so much, Hurricane Harvey led to a pause on travel planning. Several Spartanaires and their families were impacted directly by storm flooding. But a way forward was found to make the trip affordable for all the team members.
“I think that it will be good to meet drill teams from other schools. It will be very interesting to get to know the girls we are going to be performing with and see where they come from. This is also a good performance opportunity for our team to showcase what we can do,” junior Morgan Vandervoort said.
To participate in the parade, the Spartanaires had to score above a certain rank for their team routine at competition last year and they found out they qualified for the parade during the award ceremony that night. After flying out, the Spartanaires will take a few dance classes and learn the routine they will perform in the parade. They will rehearse it many times before showcasing their work.
“While I am ecstatic to perform in the parade, what I am most looking forward to is getting closer as a team. We are going to be spending a whole week together in New York and I am excited to bond with everyone. We still have the rest of the year together and being united as a team [in New York City] will make us stronger as a whole and will allow us to be more successful,” senior Spartanaires Col. Erin Collins said.
The team will also be doing many other activities while in New York, including seeing the Broadway plays Wicked and Anastasia, as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
On the morning of the parade, the Spartanaires will wake up at 3:30 a.m. in order to get ready for event roll call at 4:30 a.m. Later, they will walk in the parade.
Stratford Spartanaires have participated in the Macy’s Day Parade before, the most recent being 2013 with a different batch of dancers. This will be a new experience for all Spartanaires, whose annual trips have been to Disney World and Dallas.
“I am most excited about hanging with my friends in New York, as well as performing in the parade. It will be so much fun to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity together,” junior Mary Kate Guerre said.
The parade invitation to the Spartanaires was made by invitation by Spirit of America Productions. The team submitted several videos of their dance routines, and had to be rated high enough on each one to earn a parade invite. The Spartanaires Director told the Memorial Examiner that the production company lowered its participation costs because of Harvey’s impact on many team members and their families.
“Most of the girls that were impacted by the flood thought they wouldn’t be able to go, but now can because of this discount,” said director Julie Vinyard.
Watch the Macy’s Day Parade on local NBC station KPRC-TV2.
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