Mortgage Broker in Mauldin, SC

GREENVILLE — The Mauldin High School dance team sat in the cafeteria minutes before the town Christmas parade when their assistant coach blurted out an idea.

"Wouldn't it be so cool if we were doing a parade in New York City?" Mary Belvin asked.

Sure, it sounded cool, but the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? The second oldest Thanksgiving parade in the nation that plays on TVs all across the country? Was it even possible, let alone for a program in its first year?

Little did the dancers know that Belvin went home that night and searched: "How do you get into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade?"

Three years later, when 3.5 million people crowd into Manhattan to watch the 98th iteration of the iconic parade, they will see the Mauldin Mavettes high school dance team.

On Thanksgiving Day, the Upstate school will join 8,000 participants and share the stage with Jimmy Fallon, Santa Claus, The Rockettes and The Temptations.

Mauldin will participate in the parade alongside another in-state school: The University of South Carolina marching band, which will bring more than 375 students to its first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearance.

For the Mavettes, it comes just six years after the program disbanded — and then came roaring back to life.

"This does not feel real," said senior Chloe Latimore. "It's not common you meet someone that has gone to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

The inception

Following a near five-decade run, the dance team dissolved in 2018. Their coach left, and there was no one left to run the program.

Then, in 2021, Belvin, the principal secretary who previously managed a dance school, helped bring it back to life.

While many of the dancers compete for their local dance studios, the Mavettes are non-competitive, performing at community events like festivals, high school football games and even USC halftime shows.

After Belvin first dropped the idea of joining Macy's, they just kept talking about it and talking about it until it finally became real.

In 2023, with eight graduating seniors, the coaches decided they were finally ready to try for a spot in Spirit of America Productions, a group that sends high school dancers nationwide to the parade every year.

The Mavettes learned new dances for the audition in August with a choreographer and drilled them until January. They hired a videographer and recorded an audition tape, featuring football halftime routines and palm-style moves. They spelled out Macy's with their pom-poms.

Still, head coach Mary Burns didn't expect to get accepted.

"I thought it would be: Put it in, learn from what we can do better on the audition process and apply again," Burns said. "That's really how I thought it was going to go. I really never expected the first time to ever actually be accepted."

A few weeks later, in late January 2024, they heard back. That night at 7 p.m., Belvin called for an impromptu team meeting in their GroupMe.

"I said, 'well, we're going to Macy's,'" Belvin said. They jumped up and down. They were just beyond excited."

Preparing for the parade

Since earning a spot in the parade, they have received costumes, a link to the choreography and, now, it's go time.

When the Mavettes walk through Manhattan, they will be joined by 500 high school dancers from across the country as part of Spirit of America.

"Each year, Macy’s Studios searches nationwide to select top-notch talent and performance groups to join the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade," Sara Flores, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade associate producer, told the Post and Courier in a statement. "We are thrilled for performers from Mauldin High School to make their debut in this year’s line-up to bring style and spectacle to the streets of New York City."

For six of the 18 dancers, it's their first time in New York City. For three, it's their first time on the plane. They will attend "& Juliet" on Broadway, ride a boat cruise to the Statue of Liberty and go window shopping at Tiffany & Co. jewelry store.

But it's not a vacation. It will be intense work. On Saturday, the day they arrive, they'll have a four-hour rehearsal. On Sunday, they'll have an eight hour rehearsal.

The rehearsals will continue, day after day, until Thanksgiving and the Mavettes parade through New York City.

"I don't know how many other high school teams can be in existence for four years," Burns said, "and do something like this."

After years of searching for a permanent home, the Greenville Triumph and Liberty Soccer Clubs will finally have their own stadium at BridgeWay Station in Mauldin.

The 10,000-seat multi-use sports and entertainment stadium will be built one parking lot away from Mauldin’s European-inspired plaza, breaking ground in 2025 and opening in 2026. The project is estimated to cost between $80-$100 million.

“This stadium will be a place where our entire community comes together to celebrate, to compete and to create memories that will last a lifetime. In addition to the Triumph and Liberty teams, we will allow young athletes of all shapes, sizes, races, religions, to come here and play in this great stadium,” said Greenville Triumph Chairman Joe Erwin. “This is your stadium: The peoples’ stadium.”

The new stadium is a partnership between the clubs, BridgeWay Station and the City of Mauldin. Local development group Hughes Investment also played a role.

The stadium will also host lacrosse, rugby, football, concerts and festivals. BridgeWay station is located close to the Swamp Rabbit Trail and will be accessible from the trail, Erwin said.

About 200 people, from soccer fans to government officials, gathered at BridgeWay Station for the announcement.

Mauldin Mayor Terry Merritt said the city has often been forgotten in Upstate development, but it’s time for that to change.

“Mauldin is a vibrant, fast-growing community. Since 2010, Mauldin has grown from a city of just under 23,000 residents to now more than 29,000, and that number is projected to increase to 35,000 residents by 2030,” Merritt said. “Historically, we've always been known as a crossroad community or a pass-through community…a place you drive through on your way somewhere else, and we knew we needed to change that.”

Merritt said he believes this stadium will help turn Mauldin into the destination residents already believe it is.

But it’s been a long time coming.

Owners of the club previously tried to build a stadium at BridgeWay station in 2022, but “Project Kick,” as it was known at the time, died when the majority of the Greenville County Council Finance Committee voted against the development. Councilmember Ennis Fant cited concerns about the nearly $39 million price tag at the time, saying that the county would not raise taxes to foot the bill.

In the Triumph’s early days, they played at Legacy Early College Field in Greenville’s Southernside neighborhood. Legacy served as the venue for the Triumph beginning with their inaugural game in 2019, then later for the women’s pre-professional league, the Greenville Liberty, when it launched in 2022.

Both teams continued to play at Legacy until 2023. Then, they moved operations to Furman’s 16,000-seat Paladin Stadium, where they’ve since played home games. The Triumph plays in the USL League One, a third division of American soccer. The Liberty plays in the USL W League. The group also has two youth teams, Erwin said.

State Sen. Ross Turner (R-Greenville) said that public-private partnerships like the new stadium are helping South Carolina prosper.

“Public-private partnerships like this one are essential for creating the kind of thriving, forward-thinking communities we envision for South Carolina by working together across government, business and community lines, we're investing in a future that strengthens our economy and enhances our quality of life for generations to come,” Turner said. “This is a win for the Upstate. It's a win for Mauldin, and it's a win for all South Carolinians.”

Hughes Investment Vice President River Hughes said that in addition to the stadium, BridgeWay Station will continue to grow.

“Not only is this an opportunity for sports and soccer and community engagement to continue to grow in Mauldin, South Carolina, this is an opportunity for overall growth in the entire Upstate,” Hughes said.

So far, sports and local real estate consultants from McCullers Group in Westerville, Ohio and McMillan, Pazdan, Smith Architecture of Greenville are members of the project team.

As the team prepares to break ground next year, Upstate residents can find more information about the new stadium on the Triumph and Liberty clubs’ sites, at www.greenvilletriumph.com/newstadium/.

Sarah Swetlik covers business, growth and development for The Greenville News. Previously, she covered environmental issues and climate change. You can reach her at sswetlik@gannett.com or via X at @sarahgswetlik.