34th & Phunk is a performance group uniquely created for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The United States Tournament of Dance produced the first-ever hip-hop dance performance for the 2017 Macy's Parade. Selected by celebrity choreographers Will "WilldaBeast" Adams and Janelle Ginestra in early 2017, a group of 61 dancers who auditioned from across the nation to perform in the famed holiday spectacle. Sean Flanagan, a producer of USTD, said the audition process was held "So that we had the ability to screen and select the best possible dancers for the actual performance."[1]
"I think Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade having hip-hop is so important," said Adams. "It's another chance for people to understand what this means to us, how it's changing, how it's evolving, how the new generation has taken their approach on it and how elite at it they are."[1]
Prior to their debut, 34th & Phunk made a special appearance on NBC's Today, accompanied by several Parade units and giving viewers a sneak peak of what was to come on Parade day.
34th & Phunk made their debut boldly and in style on Thanksgiving morning, with an epic, history-making performance outside of Macy's Herald Square set to a remixed rendition of Trip Lee's "Monolo".