Armstrong School of Dance In the News

Ithaca’s Armstrong School of Dance will be performing at the 99th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Nov. 27. This is the seventh time the school has performed in the parade, after being scouted by Spirit of America in 2008. The event has become a tradition, an opportunity that rolls around every three years for the dancers to hit a major stage. Twenty-two dancers from Ithaca, Newfield and Lansing school districts will be performing alongside 600 other dancers from the Spirit of America Performance Dance Team.

For many, it’s a tradition to wake up on Thanksgiving morning and watch the parade. This year, if you turn on your TV, you‘ll see some faces that come right from the Ithaca area. Students from Armstrong School of Dance are preparing to be featured on national TV for the holidays. Eliza Kennedy and Clare Sanford are both seniors in high school. They will soon travel to New York City with twenty of their fellow dancers for the parade. This trip will mark the second time the two seniors have performed in the parade on Thanksgiving Day.

Twenty-two dancers from the Armstrong School of Dance in Ithaca are preparing for their biggest performance -- The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. They will be joining the Spirit of America Production dance team, something they’ve been doing for more than a decade. “In 2008, I took my dance team to New York City for a dance competition where they had scouts,” said Director and Owner of Armstrong School of Dance, Karen Gorsky. “They contacted me after the competition and invited us to be in the parade.” Armstrong dancers show off their skills on Herald Square every three years.

This year’s 99th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will have a local touch as the Armstrong School of Dance on Catherwood Road says 22 high school dance students from their studio will participate in the parade. Director of the Armstrong School of Dance, Karen Armstrong Gorsky, says dancers from her studio have been invited to perform with the Spirit of America Performance Dance Team since being recruited in 2008.

Students at the Armstrong School of Dance practice their routine of “Run, Run, Rudolph” in preparation for their upcoming performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dancers include (front row, left to right) Corinne Beeners, Elena Lauzun, Ella Goggan, Erin Durling, Greta Sanford, Clare Sanford, (middle row, left to right) Eliza Kennedy, Alivia Kirk, Anna Hibbard, Julia Madrid, Genna Bennett, Kiya Conners, (back row, left to right) Isa Salamanca, Audrey Bennett, Parker Jennings, Micayla Besemer, Kassidy Payne and Jules Troy. Photo by Jessica Wickham.