The 10th Annual New York Dance Parade & Festival Saturday, May 21st!

The 10th Annual Dance Parade & Festival Makes Manhattan Move on Saturday, May 21st! Under the theme DECADE OF DANCE, this year’s Dance Parade and Festival celebrates its 10th year. The Grand Marshals will lead as many as 10,000 dancers down Broadway from West 21st Street to a Grandstand at the corner of 8th Street and University Place where performances take place. Turning east, the parade continues along Saint Marks Place and ends at Tompkins Square Park. Inside the park, DanceFest comes alive from 3 to 7pm highlighting the artistic excellence and cultural diversity found in the Dance Parade. Festival goers are invited to view the richness of its cultural forms on five stages, participate in social dancing and take dance lessons. On the Main Performance Stage the Grand Marshals will receive awards in recognition of their career contributions presented by New York City elected officials, and members of the Dance Parade board of directors. Dance Parade New York is pleased to announce that contemporary dance choreographer Garth Fagan, KS 360 aka “Kwikstep” street dance veteran and global DJ, and B-Girl Rokafella, pioneer female hip-hop and break dancer, are headlining as Grand Marshals at the 10th Annual Dance Parade and Festival. The three dance legends will participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:45pm on Saturday May 21, 2016, releasing 10,000 dancers down Broadway to launch the parade and festival. ABOUT DANCE PARADE NEW YORK Dance Parade is the world’s largest display of the diversity found in the field of dance. The parade covers 1.4 miles and features as many as 10,000 dancers and up to 70 vehicles and floats representing about 75 styles of dance. It begins at Broadway and East 21st Street and flows down through Union Square and University Place. There is a grandstand at East 8th St. & University Place, where major media and invited guests can get a clear view as dancers swing by. The procession cascades across St. Marks Place at Tompkins Square Park in DanceFest, an outdoor festival at the conclusion of the parade. DanceFest features five stages of continuous programming and free dance lessons by some of the city’s best teachers from 3-7pm. Dance Parade originated as a community response to 2006 lawsuit seeking to overturn New York City’s 1926 Cabaret License Law, which has been used to restrict unlicensed social dancing in the city’s bars and restaurants. When a New York State Supreme Court Judge ruled that social dancing was not considered "expressive activity" protected by the state constitution’s freedom of expression amendment, dancers and dance groups got together to create a positive response to the decision. With this response, the Dance Parade New York was born. Dance Parade New York is an entity of Dance Parade Inc, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization whose charitable mission is to promote dance as an expressive and unifying art form, while educating the public about opportunities to experience dance. The organization celebrates diversity by showcasing all forms of dance around the world through sponsorship of a yearly, citywide Dance Parade and Dance Festival. The organization serves schools and community centers throughout New York City’s five boroughs by providing 12 weeks of dance education that culminate with participation in the parade and festival. For our Media Kit including high resolution photos and more information about Dance Parade and our Education programs please visit: danceparade.org/media-downloads