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Provided by Elizabeth Charbonneau

Elizabeth Charbonneau holds a certificate given to her by her dance teacher Ms. Jocelyn. It was the last time they would see each other.

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to be here.”

The thought flitted across sophomore Elizabeth Charbonneau’s head as she stood on a gray concrete platform, looking down at a basketball court. Dance teams and companies filled the floor below her.

Charbonneau didn’t come with a dance team.

“I was really scared [and] nervous because I was completely alone,” Charbonneau said. “I didn’t know anybody. But over time [the camp] was just really fun.”

Over the summer of 2023, Charbonneau attended a Marching Auxiliaries of America (MA) dance camp in Pearland, Texas. Charbonneau was looking for dance camps to help her build technique. The camp was meant for dance teams looking to learn new routines for the upcoming school year.

“[My mom] found [the camp] online, and she signed me up for it,” Charbonneau said. “But what she didn’t know was that it was for teams. She went through the sign up process and paid for the camp [without realizing that it was meant for teams].”

Even though Charbonneau didn’t attend with a team, she was able to join other school’s teams and learn routines with them. She learned five routines over the course of three days.

“I would go in, learn a dance, perform it, have lunch, learn a dance, perform it,” Charbonneau said. “At the end [of the camp], [there] was a grand performance.”

Teams were allowed to pick their favorite routine to perform in front of parents and judges at the grand performance. Charbonneau chose to perform the hip-hop dance she learned with a middle school that was also attending the camp.

“I was so nervous,” Charbonneau said. “I messed up once, but when you’re put through those competitions and performances, you really just get to try your best and have fun.”
At the end of the camp, the judges gave out awards and trophies to every team and individual. Charbonneau was one of the 10 people that got invited to dance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with Spirit of America Productions. Her award came in the form of a flyer with the code to register for the parade.

“I was surprised, but also excited and proud of myself once I got the flyer, because it showed that I really did my best there and that they thought I was good [enough] to [perform in] the parade.” Charbonneau said. “I thought it was really cool, especially since I was in eighth grade going into ninth [grade].”

Spirit of America creates two productions for the parade based on a theme that Macy’s provides. Each group consists of 550 performers that auditioned or were awarded the role. For dancers, the event lasts a week, with rehearsals and activities sprinkled throughout.

“I’m very nervous,” Charbonneau said. “This [will be] the biggest crowd I’ve danced in front of, but I know [I will have] fun.”

Charbonneau attempted to register for the parade in 2023, but all of the spots were full. Instead, she signed up for the 2024 parade, and will attend with her mom and two siblings.

“[My mom and sister are] always at every single performance that I ever have,” Charbonneau said. “They’re my number one supporters, and I appreciate them so much for that.”