Dancing the Day Away on Broadway

Manhattan Tribal Dancers Working It

The young and vibrant Dance Parade celebrated its 9th year on May 16th in festive style with lots of music, costumes, and what else…lots of dancing. It’s the one parade that brings all people of the world together to show off their favorite dance moves. From the sultry and sexy belly dancers to some sizzling samba to some classical ballet, the parade route from 22nd and Broadway to 8th St and Avenue A was filled with lots of high energy and good times. This years Grand Marshall float boasted an eclectic mix of dance icon and actress Carmen de Lavallade, Alvin Ailey choreographer Robert Battle, DJ Rekha spinning a hot Bhangra mix while some Bhangra dancers got the crowd pumped up for a fun day of dance and sharing.

Grand Marshall Float

Yes…All Lives Matter

Bhangra Dancers Having Fun

As in most parades in NYC there are always some political or social message helping bring awareness of an issue. The Thriller group which pays tribute to one of the best dancers ever, Michael Jackson, displayed banners reminding us of the value of each and every life. Yes. All lives matter. The first of a group of artists showing the crowd their slow and sensual belly dancing moves were the Pure Onyx Movement. A good pairing were the Samiras School of belly dance and the crowd favorite Manhattan Tribal. One dancer pulled a viewer into the mix and got her to shimmy some. The crowd loved their moves. A new group that got some attention was the Kizomba group with their elegant mix of tango and bachata and zook. Cultural groups made their presence felt. The group having the most fun was the Brasileirando Samba dance group. They really worked the crowd. Not too far behind them were the Bolivian San Simone Caporales with their shiny costumes and high energy dance moves. NYC has the best nightlife in the country and some of the more popular clubs sent their floats with some crazy costumes and dancers. The Toad, an annual crowd favorite, had some crazy dancers with hula hoops really getting the crowd into it with some club music. A really fun group were the young Broadway Dance Center making up their own dance moves. For a second I was reliving the dance classic movie Fame. I wanna live forever… no matter what age, race or religion…the Dance Parade brings people together to honor and respect the most ancient of art forms…dance.