A group of Lakewood Ranch students will take their talents to one of the nation’s biggest holiday stages this Thanksgiving, performing in the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.
Ten local dancers and cheerleaders have been selected by Spirit of America to participate in the Nov. 26 parade, which draws millions of spectators in New York and tens of millions of television viewers.
Among them is Lakewood Ranch High School sophomore Jocelyn Gomez, who grew up watching the Thanksgiving tradition and imagining herself among the performers. Gomez has spent 11 years dancing and joined the Lakewood Ranch High cheerleading program last year.
The Lakewood Ranch High students selected for the cheer portion are Gomez, Milana Johnson, Sienna Lee, Isabella Nessetti, Alexandra Bransfield, Rebecca Creel and Addison Creel.
Lakewood Ranch High students Angelina Welp and Addi Hickman were selected for the dance portion, along with Manatee School for the Arts student Sarah Sandwell, who lives in Lakewood Ranch.
Spirit of America selects hundreds of dancers and cheerleaders from across the country to participate in the parade each year. Performers must learn choreography designed for the moving parade route while preparing for potentially unpredictable November weather and the pressure of performing before a national audience.
The road to New York began in 2025, when Lakewood Ranch High School Cheer Coach Kimberly Litwiler signed up the cheer team for the parade and the students were accepted. The school, however, was unable to finance the trip.
As the 2026-27 school year approached, several students decided to try again. Jump Dance Company in Lakewood Ranch provided studio space for the girls to learn the audition routine, record professional audition videos and submit them to Spirit of America.
Their auditions were successful.
The trip will include more than the parade. The students are also scheduled to attend a Broadway show and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, visit the Statue of Liberty and see other New York City landmarks.
Getting there has required a significant fundraising effort. The cost is approximately $4,000 per student, including airfare booked separately from the event package.
Doris Ramirez Nessetti, whose daughter Isabella is among the performers, has helped lead the fundraising effort. Families have organized several activities, including offering hair tinsel during Music on Main. Students and their families have also sought donations from the community.
Several of the performers have spent much of their lives dancing and cheering. Johnson has been a competitive dancer since childhood and has cheered at Lakewood Ranch High since her freshman year. Bransfield has danced for 14 years and has spent the past two years cheering at the high school. Lee began dancing at age 6 and also gives back to younger athletes by helping Lakewood Ranch junior varsity cheerleaders and volunteering with the Pop Warner East Manatee Bulldogs cheer program.
Community sponsors supporting the students include Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital, AllCare Medical Centers and Arsenault Dermatology.
A GoFundMe campaign has also been established to help the students cover expenses associated with the trip.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 and will celebrate its 100th edition this year. The approximately 2.5-mile Manhattan route concludes at Macy’s Herald Square. Character balloons became part of the tradition in 1927, when Felix the Cat became the parade’s first character balloon.
For the Lakewood Ranch performers, the Nov. 26 parade will mark the culmination of years of dance and cheer training — and turn a childhood Thanksgiving tradition into an opportunity to perform on one of the country’s most recognizable stages.
