From Staff Reports

MAULDIN, S.C. —The Mauldin High School dance team, the Mavettes, will fly to New York City to perform in the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the Upstate Post & Courier reported on Nov 11.

The idea to participate in the nation’s second oldest Thanksgiving parade was raised by assistant coach Mary Belvin as the dance team rested in a cafeteria before the town Christmas parade a few years ago, the P&C noted, quoting Belvin as saying, "Wouldn't it be so cool if we were doing a parade in New York City?" 

The newspaper added, “Little did the dancers know that Belvin went home that night and searched: ‘How do you get into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade?’"

After a nearly five-decade run, the Mavettes dissolved in 2018 when the coach left and there was no one available to run the program.

“Then, in 2021, Belvin, the principal secretary who previously managed a dance school, helped bring it back to life,” the Post & Courier noted, adding that, “while many of the dancers compete for their local dance studios, the Mavettes are non-competitive, performing at community events like festivals, high school football games and even USC halftime shows.

“After Belvin first dropped the idea of joining Macy’s, they just kept talking about it and talking about it until it finally became real.

“In 2023, with eight graduating seniors, the coaches decided they were finally ready to try for a spot in Spirit of America Productions, a group that sends high school dancers nationwide to the parade every year.

“The Mavettes learned new dances for the audition in August with a choreographer and drilled them until January. They hired a videographer and recorded an audition tape, featuring football halftime routines and palm-style moves. They spelled out Macy’s with their pom-poms,” the Post & Courier reported.

“Still, head coach Mary Burns didn’t expect to get accepted, the newspaper noted

“That’s really how I thought it was going to go. I really never expected the first time to ever actually be accepted,” the Post & Courier quoted Burns as saying.

However, the team that re-formed three years ago will perform before 3.5 million people who are projected to crowd into Manhattan to watch the 98th iteration of the iconic parade, which will include the current Mauldin Mavettes high school dance team

Indeed, on Thanksgiving Day, the Upstate school will join 8,000 participants and share the stage with Jimmy Fallon, Santa Claus, The Rockettes and The Temptations.

Besides Mauldin High’s dance team, one other South Carolina school will participate in the parade — the University of South Carolina marching band, which will bring more than 375 students to its first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance.