Dancing in the Streets: NYC's Dance Parade

Imagine the streets of NYC teeming with dancers–young, old, amateur, professional–performing every imaginable style, from ballet to Bollywood, salsa to swing. That’s exactly what the scene will look like tomorrow as more than 6,000 dancers from all over the world participate in the fourth annual Dance Parade.



This year, “So You Think You Can Dance” Season 6 alum Ellenore Scott is one of the Dance Parade’s four grand marshals. “This will be my first time participating in the parade and I’m very excited about it,” Ellenore says. “Being a grand marshal blows my mind!” She and the other grand marshals (dance writer Elizabeth Zimmer, performer and choreographer Amy Marshall and DJ Jellybean Benitez) will lead the pack down Broadway. 

When the parade concludes at NYC’s Tompkins Square Park, the party continues, with performances and free dance lessons. Scott will kick off the post-parade show with a self-choreographed solo. When Ellenore spoke to DS, she hadn’t put together her piece yet, but she was inspired by the parade’s diversity. “I want to use the idea of multicultural dance and pay homage to that,” she says.

So if you’re in NYC this weekend, don’t miss the Dance Parade. “You’ll see different types of artistic expression,” Ellenore says. “And it’s free!”

Visit the Dance Parade website for info about the parade route and schedule.

Photo of Ellenore Scott by Lee Cherry; 2009 Dance Parade by Marcus Simpson