FORT SMITH, Ark. — A group of Fort Smith dancers is headed to the Big Apple for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Southside High School's Southern Belles will join various other states as the Spirit of America Dance Stars. Lily Norman is part of the team preparing for the big day.
"I started dancing when I was three years old, and I just absolutely loved it, and I just love the movement, and you can express emotions without having to say anything," Norman said.
The team has been practicing to a medley from Charli xcx and her "BRAT" album with the help of Head Director Mariah Kyrouac.
"They have been working for a couple of weeks so far on the choreography, but they've been working so hard and learning," Kyrouac said.
"The song, actually, we found it out from TikTok, and we just absolutely loved it. And so, whenever we first found out that that was our song, we got so excited. And just from the very start, we've been excited about learning it. We've been excited about perfecting it, polishing it, so that way it can look great in New York City," Norman said.
The team will start in Central Park before ending with their performance at Herald Square. Their participation in this iconic Thanksgiving event puts them amongst their predecessors creating a sort of Southside Southern Belle tradition.
"They've been doing it for many years. When I was a Southern Belle, I also performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," Kyrouac said.
"We've watched the dancers ever since we were younger, and just to be able to be in the city doing what we've always dreamed about doing, it's very rare occasion that people actually get to fulfill their dreams. And so just for us able to be getting to go, we're so thankful, and we are so proud," Norman said.
The parade will have 2.5 miles of public viewing on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET.
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