Two Hingham Residents Will Perform in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Hingham residents Alexis Anastos and Evan Pouch both screamed with excitement when they received the news.

The two Hingham students will have their dreams come true on Thursday when they perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Alexis, a 13-year-old seventh grade student at will join Evan, a 14-year-old freshman at , to sing and dance the opening number for this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The two Hingham residents will join a group of 140 Stagedoor Manor students selected from all over the world  to take part in this once-in-a lifetime opportunity. Alexis and Even were chosen from a group of 400 Stagedoor Manor students who applied for the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Parade. This year's participants represent 27 states, as well as Canada, Jamaica, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. The participants will come together for the first time in New York City just three days before the Parade, and will learn the entire routine in a quick 24 hour rehearsal period.

Both Alexis and Evan are students of the Stagedoor Manor school, a summer program located in Loch Sheldrake, New York for performing arts students.  They each applied for the opportunity this Fall and were notified in September that they were one of the selected few that were chosen.

“I was crying and freaking out when I found out,” Alexis said.

Little did she know her friend and Stagedoor Manor classmate, Evan shared a similar reaction when he was accepted.

“I just screamed, I was so excited,” Evan said.

Alexis has been dancing since she was 3-years-old and is now an active performer for the Company Theater in Norwell where she has appeared in many plays including “Kids on Broadway,” “The Aristocats,” and “101 Dalmatians.”

Evan specializes in tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop dancing.  The Hingham High School freshman has  attended Stagedoor Manor for the past four summers and loves it. He has been dancing for 7 years and is a member of the Hingham High School dance team. He also takes lessons at the Dance Studio of Norwell and performs with Alexis at the Company Theater in Norwell.

“This is such a great opportunity,” he said. “Dancing is what I love.”

Alexis left for New York with her family on Monday night, while Evan drove down Sunday with his mother and met his father and brother there on Thanksgiving.

The opening number that Alexis and Evan will perform to is an all-new original song written specifically for the 85^th anniversary event. Following the opening, the students will then make their way to the top of the Parade route and march the entire length of the Parade, eventually escorting Santa Claus into Herald Square for the NBC national telecast's finale. This year's appearance will mark Stagedoor Manor's third consecutive Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationally on NBC-TV to an estimated 50 million from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving morning.