The Perna Dance Center in Washington DC

Hedy and Patrick Perna are not only celebrating 30 years of dancing and amazing recitals this year but are pleased to have their students dancing for the 4th year in a row with the All Stars Dance Team and the Opening and Closing production numbers in the National Cherry Blossom Festival on Washington DC.

With the arrival of what finally feels like the first day of Spring 2018, a bus of Perna Dance Center Dancers arrived in DC on Friday afternoon to begin rehearsals with other dance studios from up and down the East Coast for the annual Cherry Blossom Parade. After only 3 intense rehearsals over the Spring Break, the PDC dancers ages 10-18 years old are excited to be back in DC for this annual trip.

Graduating students Hannah Doerr, Emily Walsh and Taylor Zolnoski all agree that this trip is a great way to celebrate their PDC journey from “Littles” to the “Big Girls”.

“We start our year off in Atlantic City at the Miss America Show Us Your Shoes Parade and end it with DC at the Cherry Blossom Festival parade. It’s just ‘tradition’. I’ll really miss it next year”, says Walsh.

The dancers will start the day off bright and early at 5:30 am on Saturday morning for sunrise rehearsals in front of the National Archives Building on Constitution Way. Several of the younger dancers will dance the entire parade route with the All Star Dancers while the older students will remain near the filming area for the closing production. Director Hedy Perna known for her professionalism and preparedness said “I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and maturity of all the dancers. It’s not always easy to decide to give up time on Spring Break to rehearse but my students love performing and entertaining.”

The parade steps off at 10 am and is locally televised to the DC area. The parade will then be nationally televised in May on the ABC affiliated in NJ.

For more information about The Perna Dance Center, visit their Facebook - The Perna Dance Center or call 732 787 0727.