THE 13TH ANNUAL DANCE PARADE A joyous celebration of dance, with over 80 genres of dance and thousands of participants Announcing at 12:45 PM, before the parading begins, a traditional Native American Circle Dance, led by Louis Mofsie of the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers
2019 Grand Marshal
Bill T. Jones Bill T. Jones (Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Choreographer:
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Artistic Director: New York Live Arts) is a multi-talented artist, choreographer, dancer, theater director and writer, has received major honors ranging from the Human Rights Campaign's 2016 Visibility Award, 2013 National Medal of Arts to a 1994 MacArthur "Genius" Award and Kennedy Center Honors in 2010.
Mr. Jones was honored with the 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, recognized as Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 2010, inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009 and named "An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure" by the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2000. His ventures into Broadway theater resulted in a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography in the critically acclaimed FELA!, the new musical co-conceived, co-written, directed and choreographed by
Mr. Jones. He also earned a 2007 Tony Award for Best Choreography in Spring Awakening as well as an Obie Award for the show's 2006 off-Broadway run. His choreography for the off-Broadway production of The Seven earned him a 2006
Lucille Lortel Award.
2019 Grand Marshal
Baayork Lee The Tony award winniing American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theater director and author, born to an Indian mother and Chinese father, hails from Manhattan's Chinatown. Among her many memorable appearances on Broadway have been those in Flower Drum Song, Bravo Giovanni, Mr. President, Golden Boy, Here's Love and her first three shows as a
Michael Bennett dancer: A Joyful Noise; Henry, Sweet Henry, and Promises, Promises where she became dance captain at age 23. Next, following its theatrical run, came
Norman Jewison's film version of Jesus Christ Superstar before Baayork returned to the Broadway stage, dancing with
Tommy Tune in
Michael Bennett's Seesaw.
2019 Grand Marshal
Louis Mofsie Louis Mofsie is from the Hopi and Winnebago tribes. His father is from Second Mesa, Arizona and his mother is from Winnebago, Nebraska. Louis is a retired art teacher and taught for 35 years at the Meadowbrook Elementary School in East Meadow, New York. He is a founding member of the American Indian Community House and served as the Chairman of the board for over 15 years. He is the current director of the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers a dance company he helped originate in 1963. As an artist he has illustrated 3 children books, "The Hopi Way", "Coyote Tales", and "Folktales of the American Indian" which was written by Dee Brown. He has recorded two albums, "
Louis Mofsie Traditional American Indian Songs & Music" and "Dances And Songs of the American Indians". Louis now spends much of his time now touring with the dance company the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers which has performed all over the United States, Japan, and Israel.
2019 Grand Marshal DJ Dara A member of the infamous Planet of the Drums crew alongside fellow drum 'n bass pioneers AK1200, Dieselboy, & J Messinian, this Irish transplant has been a dominant figure in the U.S. drum 'n bass scene since his arrival here in 1994. His discography includes two critically acclaimed full length artist albums, eight DJ mix CDs, as well as numerous singles and remixes for artists such as Freq Nasty, Afrika Bambaata and Keoki. Dara co-founded the nation's first & largest drum 'n bass record store, Breakbeat Science, in NYC which doubles as his own imprint, Breakbeat Science Recordings. He has been featured in countless magazine articles and interviews both in the US and worldwide. He previously hosted one of the internet's most popular drum 'n bass broadcasts, Velocity, where he regularly interviewed leading drum 'n bass artists such as Jonny L, Kemistry & Storm, Trace, Ed Rush, Optical, Hype, Andy C, Zinc, and many others. Dara's long standing relationships with the world's drum 'n bass elite gives him access to an astounding amount of new and unreleased material. His brilliant recording endeavors along with his incessant touring marked by consistently awe-inspiring DJ sets have made him one of the most recognized and well respected DJs in the country. With 2018 being his last year touring as a solo DJ, he is really bringing the heat on every tour stop.
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