MIAMI – A South Florida dance school will be taking its talent to the Big Apple to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
32 dancers from the Maria Verdeja School of the Arts will be performing in front of a national audience on Thursday.
Lead by Suki Lopez, they have been practicing for two to three hours a day to get it right.
“She’s really fun, but she’s also strict but that’s good. Because if not we’re just going to be running around not knowing what to do. She knows what she’s doing, and she wants us to be prepared” said Valentina Castro, a dancer with the group.
Under a short deadline they had to be prepared to audition.
“We had a quick piece of choreography that they had to learn within a single hour. That was to mimic the shorten amount of time they had to learn the piece and perform it,” said Lopez.
But that was no problem for the girls, ages 11 to 18.
“I’m super excited and very grateful that we get this opportunity because it’s an opportunity of a lifetime and not many people get. My family is super supportive and super happy. They’re very excited to see me and the rest of my friends on stage. We’re not only performing to the people in New York but for everyone around the world who likes to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade” said Mia Casanueva, a dancer with the group.
They had to be tight lipped about their performance, but Local 10′s Alexis Frazier was able to get a little information about what to expect.
“You can look for some fuzzy white earmuffs and some really cute Christmas sweaters. It’s very cheerful, joyful and jolly. And you can assume we will be closer to Santa,” said Lopez.
Macy’s is helping make the costumes the girls will wear.