EDGEWATER — This year’s McDonald’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will get a twist of Oz as Gus Giordano’s Dance Company in Edgewater performs selections from the hit musical, “The Wiz.”
The Edgewater-Andersonville dance studio, at 5230 N. Clark St., was invited to take part in this year’s iconic State Street parade for the first time as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary and the parade marks its 81st year. Studio Director Amy Giordano said the dancers feel like they’ve gotten their big break.
“It is really fantastic, we are so excited,” Giordano said. “The kids are so happy, they just can’t even comprehend, ‘Oh my gosh I get to walk down State Street and be on TV and be in the parade.’ They’ve wanted to be for years.”
The parade will be held from 8-11 a.m. on State Street between Congress Parkway and Randolph Street on Thanksgiving on Thursday.
In addition to the dance troupe, Ronald McDonald will share the stage with this year’s Grand Marshal Dee Snider (“Dee Snider’s Rock & Roll Tale,” Twisted Sister) as they guide more than 100 acts past more than 400,000 spectators and even more television viewers. This year’s parade will feature a mix of old and new faces, including favorites like the Jesse White Tumblers, Santa Claus, Teddy the Turkey and Samoan fire dancers, as well as marching bands from Kelly High School in Brighton Park and other schools.
Giordano, who is the daughter of the late American jazz dancer Gus Giordano, said performing in the parade would have been a particularly special accomplishment for him, as he loved pageantry, flags and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
“He would be ecstatic,” she said.
Now, after years of practice, the studio’s moment has arrived and Giordano says her kids are proud to dance for their North Side neighbors.
“The neighborhood, just everything, has been so supportive,” Giordano said. “We just love, love, love the area. It’s our home, we want to really represent the wonderful home that we have.”
The studio, which offers dance lessons starting with children age 2 and all the way to professional adults, gave the public a preview of their parade performance Saturday. The troupe practiced outside on the 1400 block of West Farragut Avenue, which was closed to traffic for three hours. A few dozen onlookers snapped photos of the performance.
Giordano said her dancers are “very prepared” for a potentially long and cold route Thursday, including taping hand warmers across performers’ bodies and lots of extra layers.
“Better to be hot,” she said.
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