Monique School Dancers Head to Macy's Thanksgiving Parade for 3rd Time

Make sure to pay especially close attention to your TV screens during this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

You might see one of your neighbors.

Twenty-five dancers from ages 13 to 18 who take lessons at in Apple Valley will perform among 500 dancers in the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, scheduled for Thursday morning.

After fundraising throughout the spring, summer and fall, the dancers left Saturday to begin rehearsals with the other performers for this year's circus-themed parade.

"It's just a wonderful trip," said Monique Kampa, the school's founding instructor, whose dancers have two other times been invited to perform in the parade.

The routine they'll perform for three hours along the two-and-a-half mile parade route is a style between jazz and dance line, Kampa said; they're sent a tape of the routine to learn prior to going to New York.

"They’re all very good," Kampa said. "They can pick up almost anything."

About 50 million watch the parade each year, according to Macy's. But dancing on such a huge stage isn't the only reward.

From Saturday through Friday in New York, the dancers, instructors and chaperones—57 people in total—will see sights like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Broadway shows, Kampa said.

They also meet dancers from across the country, some of whom become long-term pen pals and friends, she said.

This year, Kampa also hopes to take the dancers to Ground Zero. Experiencing life outside of Apple Valley and learning about history and other cultures all are benefits of the trip, Kampa said.  

"They get to see life a little more,” she said. "It's a big learning experience for them."

If You Watch:

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC from 9 a.m. to noon Central Standard Time on Thanksgiving—Thursday, Nov. 24. 

(The parade occurs from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern Standard Time, but NBC will delay its broadcast so viewers in every time zone begin watching the parade at 9 a.m. in their own time zone.)